


moonchild

by recklesstendencies



Category: EXO (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Denial, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Jealousy, Mild Angst, Namjoon in love, Slow Burn, Strong Friendships, a lot of Exo and BTS both, alcohol use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2019-11-03 17:57:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17882513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/recklesstendencies/pseuds/recklesstendencies
Summary: Tso Io is an American musician. She also happens to be Oh Sehun's best friend. Sehun only has one rule when it comes to Io--no dating Idols. That's cool. She's had crushes, but it's been easy enough to ignore them. It's only when she meets BTS and more specifically Kim Namjoon that she begins to resent this rule.





	1. IDOL

Oh Se-hun casually tossed a hand over Io’s legs, letting his forearm rest just above her knees. As discreetly as she could, she pushed his arm away and whispered “…in public.” He nodded solemnly and whispered back a quick apology. It was the 2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong and Io was happy her schedule allowed her this brief moment of downtime to spend with her friends. Even if this was technically work for them.  

A lone American in a sea of Asian talent, Io’s heart set fire at the electricity in the room. One of the things she felt made her music so relatable was the inclusion of sounds from other cultures. TWICE took the stage to perform and the melodic electronic beat and bells already had Io writing a new song in her head. The music stopped and restarted her heart a hundred times while simultaneously burning it down and she loved every aching second of it.

Music was the glue that held Io and Sehun’s friendship together. He was scouted when he was twelve years old. At seeing his enthusiasm and how much hard work he put into his newfound dream, Io decided she was also going to be a musician—something which Sehun credited himself for endlessly. Sehun was seven when they met. He didn’t like hanging out with a girl at first. Girls were icky and he had a reputation to uphold. A stern talking to from his father made him sigh and hold out his favorite toy to the green-eyed, freckle faced little girl that giggled at everything. It took Sehun a few years to get used to the idea of having a girl for a friend since Io was mostly only around during summer vacations. He was nine and she was seven by the time he accepted that he would have to tolerate her so they might as well be best friends and get it over with. She wasn’t so bad, he guessed.

The fame hit hard. But their friendship survived it. Even far apart, he was always on her side and she was always on his. Even when they had to keep their friendship a secret from the fans. Even when the fans managed to get a picture of the two of them on a friend date trying to huddle together for warmth. Even when they had to host a press conference to address the situation which she found completely ridiculous, but she did it anyway. For him. Exo’s manager, Lee Seung Hwan thought it best to “lean into it” as they say. So that’s what happened. Sehun and Io shared pictures of themselves together dating back from when they first met explaining that they had always been friends. “There are few things in this world that I find as comforting as my oldest friend,” Sehun spoke into the microphone. “She is very much a sister to me and an important part of my life. We appreciate your understanding and love as we continue to move forward. We apologize for hiding our friendship from the public, and for the sake of clarity, we will be much more open with our friendship in the future.”

Io beamed a smile at him that he had never seen that day. She had always been silently frustrated with being told to stand by the wayside when it came to their public visibility. She would never let it affect their friendship, but it took a toll on her that she would never allow him to see. Being able to be seated together at the MAMAs was a huge victory in her mind.

Kim Jun-myeon had heard Io’s whispering and turned from where he was sitting in front the two of them and Byun Baek-hyun. She expected his face to be harsh, to glare at them for not paying attention. But the look he tossed over his shoulder with his heavy-lidded eyes sent a spark straight to the pit of her stomach. His gaze lingered for a second on her thighs where Sehun’s arm had been just moments ago and then he turned away just as nonchalantly as ever. Io’s heart did a flip in her chest and she turned her head away to hide the way her face flushed. It wasn’t an unrequited crush, per-se. Junmyeon knew, though he was too gracious to mention it. In fact, she was pretty sure all the members knew. But there was one very firm and finite rule that Sehun had when it came to Io’s friendship with his bandmates—no one was allowed to date her.

“Io!” Kim Jong-in turned from his spot next to Junmyeon and smiled up at her, the long couches in front being slightly lower than the level she, Sehun, and Baekhyun were sitting. “What did you think?” he asked, motioning his head toward the stage where TWICE had just finished their set. The others turned to look at her, even Junmyeon, though he wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“I enjoyed it,” she answered honestly. “Catchy. It feels like it was produced really well. The tempo was perfect. Seven out of ten.”

Junmyeon’s brows narrowed at your last statement and his eyes finally reached yours. “What could they have done better?”

Io sighed. She didn’t like to be unnecessarily harsh on anyone’s music other than her own. But they often asked for her opinion, she knew, to make their own better. “It’s a radio song. The tempo is great, but it doesn’t have the ‘je ne sais quoi’ that makes you want to take notice.”

“We don’t speak French,” Sehun patiently reminded her. It was an ongoing struggle for her where she mixed up her languages, especially with idioms.

“It means something that can’t be defined,” she continued. “I get that it’s supposed to be happy, but it’s too aegyo, too sweet. Don’t get me wrong, it will be a hit. And damn I’m feeling Jeongyeon with that short hair, but they need a little more rough to make them unforgettable. …And you know how I feel about using AR under live performances.”

Junmyeon nodded silently and returned to his original stoic position of having his arms crossed and his right ankle lazily tossed over his left knee.

It was during this commercial break that staffers moved around to their groups, handing out water and escorting their idols. Baekhyun excused himself to walk with a staff hyung to the restroom. A different staff member handed her waters for herself and Sehun. Sehun popped the cap and drank deeply.

“Right here.” An usher motioned with his hand for the group behind him to sit down. There were a few empty seats to Io’s right and a few behind her on the next level that had been empty so far. She had wondered who they belonged to, if they belonged to anyone.

Io saw the moment that most all of the BTS members hesitated as they realized there was only room for four of them on the seats behind her and the other three would have to sit to her right. Kim Tae-hyung and Park Ji-min were quick to claim seats behind her, but the others were flustered. She pretended not to pay that much attention but she couldn’t help but smile to herself as the leader, Kim Nam-joon tried to persuade some of the other members that there was plenty of room. Namjoon sat, though not in the spot next to Io, while the rest of the members deliberated. It wasn’t until Jeon Jung-kook pleaded with Namjoon to scoot over that Namjoon relented and took the spot next to her.

“I think BTS is scared of me,” Io confided, leaning in to whisper to Sehun. He leaned around her to see his BTS friends actively looking anywhere but at her. He chuckled to himself.

“Can’t imagine why,” he laughed. “You’re so approachable.”

She narrowed her eyes at the sarcasm he didn’t even attempt to disguise. “I am approachable!” she responded a little too loudly. Namjoon’s eyebrows shot up, but his eyes were still fixated on the nothing happening in front of him. It only made Sehun laugh even harder. Io rolled her eyes at her best friend. “Fine. If you’re going to be a jerk, I’ll go sit next to Jongin.”

At hearing his name, Jongin’s attention turned back to the squabbling friends behind him. He reached his long arms back over his head, his hands grasping for hers. “Of course, pet. Come sit next to me.”

Sehun smacked Jongin’s arms away and put his hand over Io’s legs to keep her in place. “Yah! What did I tell you about keeping your hands off of my baby sister? Do you want to die?!” Jongin shot a smile over his shoulder at Io and winked before turning back around. Jongin was the member she was closest to after Sehun. They had become good friends, sharing in their mutual love of teasing Sehun.

Io pushed at Sehun’s hand again, only succeeding in getting him to turn her loose when she crossed her legs toward Namjoon. “You can’t take familiarities with me like that when we’re in public,” she scolded him through her teeth.

“Then behave,” he scolded in return. He relinquished his hold on Io and extended his hand past her to Namjoon. “Hey, man. How are you?” It took a moment for Namjoon to realize he was being spoken to. He gave a curt nod and extended his hand as well to shake Sehun’s. “You guys have been everywhere. We haven’t seen you in a while.”

Namjoon gave a polite, if a little exhausted, smile. “Yeah. We just got back from the Philippines two days ago and went straight into rehearsal. You know how it is.”

Sehun nodded, understanding. “Looks like it was worth it, though. That was a good performance. …Huh?” Sehun’s attention was suddenly drawn to Junmyeon’s voice addressing his members. It was something about a press meeting they had tomorrow. She ignored it.

“It really was a great performance,” she continued the conversation with Namjoon where Sehun had left off.

“There were a couple of things we could have done better if we had more time.” The corner of his mouth lifted in a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Io shrugged. “It’s a live performance. As a species, humans are flawed and we make mistakes. They must have been subtle, though.” She tapped her finger against her chin and hummed. “I didn’t notice any mistakes. Your moves were fluid and the vocals were strong.”

“You didn’t see the mistakes? Honestly?”

“Honestly,” Io lifted her hand in a mock boy scout salute and Namjoon smiled at the reference. “Of course next time, maybe dial back the flames, God of Destruction. You could legitimately die.”

“Of embarrassment, maybe.” Namjoon brought his large hands up to cover his face and laughed. “I can’t believe you know that.”

“Does it surprise you?”

“A little, yeah,” he admitted. “I don’t think it’s too presumptuous to assume you had heard about us since you’re a musician, you grew up in Seoul, and you’re friends with our friends.” Namjoon waved a hand and the boys in front of her—her boys. “You knowing that I’m called God of Destruction is mortifying, of course, but also kind of flattering.”

She smiled in spite of herself. “How did you know I grew up in Seoul?”

Namjoon’s face turned panicked and he started fumbling with his words. “Um. See, the thing about that—”

“We follow you,” Kim Seok-jin supplied from the other side of Jungkook.

“We don’t _follow_ you,” Namjoon said quickly enunciating the Korean syllables. “We’re not stalkers.”

“I follow you guys,” she shrugged casually, taking a sip of her water. “I’ve been a fan for a while. I know many embarrassing things.”

“You’re a fan of us?” Jungkook asked, eyes wide and slightly taken aback. Then he looked almost as if he shocked himself by speaking. Red patches appeared on his face and he looked down at the floor again.

Io chuckled and reached over Namjoon to nudge Jungkook’s knee playfully with her fist. “Yeah, you. Am I allowed to call you ae-gi, or is that a special privilege I have to earn?”

The red bloomed from Jungkook’s cheeks and spread to his ears. “You can call me ae-gi,” he said quietly.

“We love you,” Jimin added in English from over Io’s shoulder.

“Aww. Thanks, Jiminie. I love you, too,” she responded back in English, letting the Virginia accent slip a little more than she would have liked. She leaned back and patted Jimin on the cheek. He sat back, satisfied with a very wide grin on his face. Namjoon looked away, mildly horrified at his brothers’ complete lack of chill.

“I started spending summers in Seoul when I was five and I fell in love it,” she switched seamlessly back into Korean. “Sehun and I grew up in the Jungnang District.” Namjoon nodded in recognition being from just outside of Seoul, himself.  

“But you have a house in Hannam-Dong, now, right?” he asked. “I read that somewhere.”

Io nodded. “I do. Near you guys, I think. Not in the Hill, but you know where the bowling alley is?” Namjoon confirmed that he did. “Take the next right. Keep left at the forks and I’m at the end.”

“That’s in the park though, right? In the woods?”

Io shrugged. “I like it. It’s peaceful. I take walks and no one bothers me.”

“You take walks alone in the woods?” Namjoon couldn’t hide the look of dread that crossed his face quickly enough for Io not to see it.

“Afraid of the woods?” Io smiled teasingly. Namjoon looked embarrassed at inadvertently admitting his fear of the woods. “It’s okay. They don’t like it either,” she confessed, motioning to Sehun and the others. “They make me come to their house.”

“Because you live out in the middle of the creepy woods.” Jongin complained, unsympathetic. He disliked being mocked.

Io pushed at the back of his head. “I’m sorry, were you listening in on my conversation?”

“I’m sorry, was your loud conversation supposed to be private?” he shot back with a growl. “And don’t give people directions to your house.”

“It’s gated,” Io protested. “And I thought Namjoon was your friend. Don’t we trust him?”

“He _is_ our friend, but _we_ ,” he motioned between himself and the rest of the band members, “don’t trust anyone when it comes to your safety.”

“I have a recording studio in the basement,” Io continued, speaking to Namjoon and ignoring Jongin’s strangled frustrations. “I actually have a project I’m working on and Sehun said you would be the go-to to collaborate with.”

“No.” Sehun had laid his arm protectively across Io’s legs again.

“What do you mean no?” Io sighed, annoyed that she had to yet again pry his hand from her knee. “You said Namjoon would be perfect for this kind of thing.”

Sehun frowned. “I changed my mind.”

She rolled her eyes and continued talking to Namjoon. “So, it starts with these three deep pulses and…” The house lights dimmed, cutting Io off in the middle of her sentence. It was rude to keep talking as the next presenters walked to the microphone. Io smiled politely and motioned her head toward the stage. Namjoon nodded in understanding.

There were a few rounds of awards that Io smiled through and clapped, but it wasn’t until Best Male Group was next that she actively began paying attention again. Exo was nominated, but so was BTS. She wound her arm with Sehun’s, anxiously waiting for Park Seo-joon and Han Hyo-joo to announce the winner.

“Exo!” Hyojoo called into the microphone. Her boys stood in their black matching outfits and she had to resist the urge to jump up and down. Sehun didn’t dare kiss her, even on the top of her head, in public, but he did poke her nose before he joined his brothers on stage. Junmyeon was the first to speak, and if she were being honest, she heard absolutely none of it. Her heart was pushed so far up into her throat that she couldn’t understand anything. They were led off stage, and she sat back down with a contented hum as the house lights flicked up again signaling another commercial break.

Io was still riding the adrenaline when she looked over to see the BTS boys’ slightly disappointed faces. She nudged at Namjoon’s leg with the tip of her shoe. “I’m sorry you guys didn’t win.”

He chuckled. “Are you allowed to be sad that we lost and be happy that they won at the same time?”

“Absolutely,” she nodded. “I feel like it’s a struggle for a lot of the KPOP fandom. Everyone has their bias, sure, but we’re all rooting for each other. Isn’t that how life is supposed to go?”

“It should be, but not necessarily how it is.” He watched her as she rested her elbow on her knee and her chin in her hand. Her face was flushed from the excitement and her bright jade eyes wandered over the crowd. “I like the way you say things,” he admitted, casually and was gratified with her face flushing a little more. “You were going to tell me about a song you were working on.”

Her eyes lit up as she remembered. “Oh, right!”

.

She was leaned in close to Namjoon discussing her song quietly, though he kept adding in little jokes every now and then making her laugh. Sehun saw them from a distance and elbowed Junmyeon hyung in the side. Tilting his head in the direction of his best friend, Sehun saw Junmyeon’s eyes darken at the scene. “Are we putting a stop to it?” Junmyeon asked. Sehun hesitated. Io would be sure to fight back. And, as she kept reminding him, they were in public. Junmyeon saw the indecision on Sehun’s face and decided for them. “Yeah. I don't like this.”

Io smiled at the approaching boys, but continued talking to Namjoon in hushed, excited tones.

“Io, can you move down here, please?” Junmyeon pointed at his empty seat.

Normally she would relish the opportunity to sit beside Junmyeon, but she was deep into a discussion about her music with Namjoon. “No? Why? I’m having a conversation.

He sighed, exasperated with her stubbornness. “Because you’re not allowed to date Idols.”

Io shook her head, confused. “I’m sorry, who am I supposed to be dating?”

Junmyeon’s lips thinned and his eyebrows drew closer together. “Kim Namjoon.” It was a simple command. With the upward lift of his chin, Junmyeon ordered Namjoon to move. Namjoon nodded and stood, directing Jung Ho-seok to sit where he had been sitting while Junmyeon ordered Kim Jong-dae to take Io’s seat. “I said move down here,” he stated with finality.

Io looked to Sehun for support, but she found none. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he was staring at the ground with his brow furrowed. “Are you seriously treating me like a child right now?” she snapped harshly, turning back to Junmyeon “You see me talking with someone, so you decide you actually give a shit what I do? I am a grown woman. And you are not my brother.” She was standing before she realized, her fists clenched at her side.

“Sehun,” Junmyeon barked.

Sehun’s shoulders slumped a little more. “Do what he says.”

Io never shifted her eyes from Junmyeon. “You seem to have misunderstood me,” she breathed, seething. “I don’t take orders. Not from you. Not from him,” she pointed to Sehun. “Not from anyone. If you have a problem with that, then that’s _your_ problem.” She grabbed the clutch from where she was sitting and turned her back to them.

“Io. Don’t,” Sehun warned, reaching out for her. She pulled her arm from his grasp and shot him a dangerous glare that clearly said more than she was allowed to given the many, many cameras around them. She hastily pushed her way past staff who had been alerted to the situation and made her way to the lobby, tugging her heels off as she went. She was faster without them.

She found a car to take her back to the hotel. It was a mercifully short ride and as soon as the door shut behind her, she stripped and threw herself into the shower under the scalding hot spray to wash away this bitch of a night. She didn’t cry. She was too angry for that. But after the imaginary argument that she had with Sehun and Junmyeon where she screamed at them all the swear words she couldn’t say in front of cameras, she felt a little better.

She turned the water off and ran a towel over her hair before wrapping it around herself and stepping out onto the mat. That’s when she heard the pounding on her hotel room door. _Sehun_ , she thought as she rolled her eyes. It could only be Sehun. Without even bothering to check the peephole, she pulled the door open. “Come in,” she announced bitterly and turned her back to dig through her suitcase for some underwear. She found a pair and the matching bra, tossing them aside on the bed while she waited for Sehun to speak first. He was the one in the wrong, after all.

A few more seconds passed and she heard Sehun clear his throat behind her. Only, it didn’t sound like Sehun. She knew him as well as she knew herself and the sounds he makes. The person behind her sounded different. The sound was lighter, softer somehow. Who was in her room? She pulled he towel tighter around her body.

“We won Best Album, if you care,” the voice stated nonchalantly.

Junmyeon.

She felt her elation and pride build up inside of her at their success, but it turned sour in her stomach. “If I… of course I care!” Io turned sharply to face him. “How could you even say that?”

“You didn’t seem to care when you were running away.” He shrugged and walked around her, picking her dress up from the floor where she had discarded it in her haste and tossed it over the bed.

“You mean after you were a jerk to me for no reason and humiliated me in front of someone I’d like to work with?”

He flinched. “I didn’t like the way they were looking at you.”

“They weren’t looking at me in any way, and even if they were, what business is it of yours? You seem to think I belong to you. I don’t.”

“Me?” His ears pinked at the suggestion.

“Collective ‘you.’ As in all of Exo.” She threw her hands up in frustration. “I am not your pet. I’m supposed to be your friend and friends don’t pull the shit that you did tonight.”

“We’re protective because we care about you, stupid girl.” He walked farther into the room, collecting more things from the floor that she had castoff on her way to the shower. He didn’t like to leave a mess.

Io followed after him. “You think Namjoon’s dimple is out to get me, is that it?”

“You are twenty years old,” he countered, blindly picking things up now, not realizing he had her underwear in his hands. “You’re not old enough to understand the complexities of—”

“Of what?” she interrupted, grabbing her undergarments away from him. “Fame? Idol culture? I’ve known you guys since I was thirteen. I have plenty—”

“Love!” he shouted, finally succeeding in shutting her up. There was a pregnant pause between them. She felt the blood rise in her freshly scrubbed face and knew she was blushing.

“Is Namjoon a womanizer?” she began cautiously. “Is that why…”

Junmyeon shook his head. “No. Nothing like that. It’s just, this life isn’t…” he struggled with the right word. “Encouraging,” he decided on, “of meaningful relationships.”

“I see you guys fairly often,” she argued.

Junmyeon scrubbed his face with his hands, maddened by her inability to understand basic concepts when she was the smartest person he knew. Usually too smart for her own good. “Imagine you were dating one of us,” he posited. “Me. We’ll use me for an example. When would we ever get time alone?”

She opened her mouth to respond but quickly closed it. Sehun was her best friend. When was the last time she was alone with him? But then another thought occurred to her. “We’re alone right now.”

He snickered under his breath. She had him there. “And I’m going to owe the other members one hell of an apology since I ditched them to come here and check on you.”

She considered reminding him that no one had asked him to come check on her, but she didn’t enjoy fighting with him. If he came to make peace, she would take it. “I assumed it would be Sehun.”

“I told him I would handle it. It was my fault.” He rocked back and forth on his heels and snapped his fingers. “Soooooo. We’re good now. Put some clothes on and come out to celebrate.”

She held up a finger in front of him. “Um. Excuse me. I don’t recall you apologizing.”

“Put some clothes on,” he stated again. Io cocked her hip to the side and suddenly found her nails to be the most interesting thing, ignoring him completely. “I’m not apologizing about the Namjoon thing,” he sighed. “But I am sorry for being a jerk to you when you didn’t deserve it.”

Apologies from Junymeon were few and far between. She smiled and leaned in to sloppily kiss his cheek, grabbing him around the waist to direct him to the door. “Fine. But you have to get out so I can change. I’ll be out in ten minutes.”

“Make it five!” he called over his shoulder as she shut the door behind him.

 

 

 


	2. What Fools These Mortals Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Fine. Who’s your Bangtan bias?”  
> Io thought for a moment, running through the guys in her head. All of them were beautiful, but that wasn’t something she was particularly concerned with. She liked Yoongi’s ‘take no shit’ attitude. Hoseok was like a having personal sun that you carried around in your back pocket. She knew Tae was artistic. So was Jungkook to an extent. Jimin was the most precious thing to walk the earth and Jin could cook. But Namjoon was intelligent, always so giving with his bandmates, and talking with him was so easy. “You, probably,” she decided after deliberating a little bit longer.  
> “Me?” Namjoon sat up, surprised.  
> “Yeah. Smart. Generous. Kind.” She ticked his attributes off on her fingers as she said them. “Those are my three big must-haves.”  
> “You have a crush on me?” He grinned and his nose scrunched up in what he was sure was a very unattractive way.  
> Io laughed and threw the piece of chocolate maid services had left on her pillow at him. “Don’t make it weird.”  
> “Right.” He smiled again, pushing down the way his lungs suddenly felt too big for his chest.

“You better not be wearing heels,” Junmyeon yelled through the door as Io was getting ready. “I hate it when you wear heels.”

“We’re the same height. Get over it,” she called back.

It took Io less than five minutes to get ready. She tugged on her favorite pair of skinny jeans that made her butt look amazing and a white crop top with her black floral bomber jacket. Looking cute wasn’t really a concern. These were the most comfortable things she had brought with her. Her long black hair was still wet, and she only bothered with a touch of mascara, but she was only going to be with the boys, after all. It didn’t matter what she was wearing because they had seen her looking like trash too many times to count. She hopped as she opened the door, still struggling to pull on the left shoe of her black slip-on Vans and shove everything she would need in her jacket pocket at the same time.

“Ready!” she announced, hopping once more on her right foot before she succeeded in pulling on the other shoe.

“That’s the shirt you’re wearing?” Junmyeon narrowed his eyes at her exposed midriff.

“Jun, you’ve seen me in a bikini before. All the guys have. No one is going to care about my belly button being out.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not just us.” He reached out his hand for hers and her stomach fluttered at how casual it felt. Like it was something they did all the time. “BTS won Artist of the Year and they asked if we wanted to celebrate together.”

Io stopped in the center of the corridor, dropping Junmyeon’s hand. “Are you serious?” She slapped at his hand when he went to reach for her again. “You treated me like an infant and practically accused me of being all over Namjoon. Now we’re just going to hang out and pretend like nothing happened?”

Junmyeon shrugged. “That was an hour and a half ago. We’re over it.”

“Boys,” she grumbled under her breath and stalked in front of him.

.

They used a back entrance to the high-end restaurant and were escorted to the private party room by staff. When they were being led through the kitchens, a busboy almost ran into Io. Junmyeon snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her with him and keeping her out of harm’s way. He let go only after they both noticed Sehun staring daggers at where Junmyeon’s hand rested on Io’s skin. Just as Junmyeon had had said, BTS and Exo sat around one large table already littered with empty shot glasses and appetizer plates. “Yah!” Junmyeon shouted. “You started the party without us?”

“Saved you a seat.” Sehun motioned to Io to sit in the chair next to him, but she pushed Junmyeon in front of her. Io didn’t hold grudges, but she was still a little bitter that Sehun didn’t have her back in the argument with Junmyeon.

“Can I sit next to Jimin?” she asked, noting the only other empty chair.

Jimin responded with a “Yes!” at the same time Sehun said “No.”

“Next to Jimin or in Jongin’s lap. You pick,” she challenged Sehun.

Jongin made a show of tilting his head up invitingly and patting his lap. Sehun choked, clearly not okay with this new development. “No,” Sehun said again, lifting a finger in front of her face.

Junmyeon waved a hand dismissively and took the seat between Sehun and Hoseok. “Let her do what she wants. She’s easier to live with when she doesn’t want to claw your eyes out.”

Io threw an edamame pod at him.

Sehun conceded to letting Io sit between Jimin and Taehyung. Jimin was kind and pulled her chair out for her and Io was certain that his smile was the most adorable thing she’d ever seen. Taehyung was mostly quiet until she asked him about his younger siblings. His face lit up and he pulled his phone from his pocket to show her pictures and videos. As he scrolled, he apologized that there were more pictures of the other members than his family lately. He continued swiping across to get to the next picture when his entire face flushed at a picture of himself in the mirror with only his boxer briefs. He became flustered and tried to hurriedly swipe to the next image, but his thumb was clumsy and only managed to zoom in.

“Tae!” Io laughed and plucked his phone from his shaky hand. “You’ve been holding out on ARMY!” She pinched the screen to get back to the full image as he scurried to try to take the phone back.

“Io!” She held the phone just out of his reach as he struggled to take it back, but his arms were much longer than hers and he succeeded quickly, grumbling as he shoved his phone back in his pocket.

“I’m sorry,” she laughed and leaned up to kiss him on his cheek. “You’re beautiful. I’m only laughing because you’re embarrassed at being a sex god. I’m sorry.” She rose from her chair and patted Taehyung on the head. “Here, let me go get you another drink to make up for it. Anyone else?” she asked, addressing the rest of the table. “More drinks?”

“Me,” Baekhyun held up his empty glass.

“Me, too, please. And Yoongi,” Seokjin requested. Yoongi raised his empty glass with a nod.

“Don’t be rude,” Namjoon scolded Jin. 

“She offered!” Jin defended himself.

“You sit. I’ll get them,” Namjoon offered, rising from his chair. Io put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down.

Io shook her head. “Not that kind of girl, Namjoon.”

Chanyeol chuckled at Namjoon as they watched Io slip from the private room and out into the kitchen. “Yeah, you don’t really tell Io not to do something.”

“We used to. But it never really ended in our favor,” Yixing added. “And you just end up looking foolish. That rascal.”

It took about fifteen minutes, but the door opened again, and Io entered with a tray of drinks followed by another familiar face. Park Bo-gum balanced a tray in his hands and held the door with his hip.

“I picked up a stray at the bar,” Io announced to the room. She put down her tray of drinks first and moved to the side so that Bogum could set his tray down as well. Io hoped the stars in her eyes didn’t crack through her composure. Bogum had approached her at the bar, seamlessly slipping into a conversation and before she was even aware of what was happening, he was following her with the other tray of drinks she was struggling with. “Thank you for helping me.” She bowed slightly and he held up his hands to stop her.

“Hey, man!” Tae stood to completely envelop his friend in a hug and tugged on his arm. “Join us!”

Bogum shook his head with what Io thought was a dangerous smile. A smile that could make smart girls go stupid very quickly. “Oh, no, thank you. I have someone waiting. I was just on my way out when I saw Tso Io struggling.”

She laughed at his use of honorifics, never having been keen to use them, herself. “I’m younger than you. You’re welcome to call me Io.”

“Io.” He nodded. “I hope I see you again.” He bowed slightly in her direction and again at the group before giving Taehyung another hug. “I’m leaving first.”

She waited a full five seconds after Bogum left the room before she allowed herself to jump up and down with excitement. “Guys! Park Bogum knows my name!”

“Yah!” Kim Jong-dae called to her with a mouthful of noodles. “Why don’t you ever get star struck over us?”

She looked at him with disgust as a lo mein noodle dropped from his mouth. “I watched you go through puberty.”

.

Three rounds of drinks later, about fifty-five percent of their group were slurring beyond normal comprehension. The others were as pathetic but in control of their faculties at least. Jimin had long ago let his head fall onto Io’s shoulder. On her other side, Taehyung sank deeply into his seat and covered his face with his hands. Io took another swig from her bottled water. As one of the few sober people left, she sat back and watched the show. They were entertaining to watch, and she enjoyed the dynamic of the two groups.

“Io, why don’t you drink with us? Are we that embarrassing?” Seokjin asked loudly over the general ambiance of drunken chatter.

“She doesn’t drink with people she doesn’t know,” Sehun answered for her, only allowing himself two shots of soju all night. Io knew she was the reason.

Io gave the BTS boys an apologetic smile.

“Why? You don’t trust us?” Jin continued, addressing Io.

“We don’t talk about it.” Junmyeon sat his drink on the wooden table with a ‘clack’ and stared through Jin, effectively shutting down the conversation.

“We have to play a game!” Baekhyun proclaimed, standing to distract from the stillness that had settled over the room.

Io laughed as he spilled his drink in his enthusiasm. “I don’t play games with you when you’re drunk. It never ends well.”

“This is different.” He pointed his finger at her and smiled. “We go around the table, ask questionssss. If you don’t answer, you have to pay the forfeit. Didn’t you guys ever play this in high school?

“Except we’re adults now,” Sehun supplied.

Jongin leaned back and clasped his hands behind his head. “I dunno. I think it’d be fun. Bangtan? You in?

“What’s the forfeit?” Junkook asked nervously.

Jongin smiled deviously. “Spin the bottle.” He turned over a soju bottle on the table in the center and gave it a spin for good measure. “You kiss. On the lips. For three seconds.”

Io rolled her eyes. “That’s so juvenile.”

“So don’t play,” he shrugged. “I’m feeling puckish tonight.” The devious smile returned and rubbed his hands together.

“Puckish?” Hoseok asked.

“Shakespeare,” Namjoon and Io answered at the same time, surprising one another.

“I’m in.” Jimin rose from Io’s shoulder and slapped his hands down on the table.

“Me, too.” Tae agreed, sitting up straight.

Do Kyung-soo shook his head. “Never in a million years would I kiss any of you.”

“Your loss.” Chanyeol tossed a loose pea at him.  “Count me.”

Baekhyun leaned in to grab the soju bottle to spin. “I’ll go first!” The turning bottle finally came to a stop on Seokjin. Baekhyun cleared his throat. “Seokjin, which one of the BTS members would you date?”

Jin’s lips grew thin as he looked around at his brothers. “If they were girls, or as they are now?”

“Now,” Baekhyun decided with a nod.

The game continued with Io only half paying attention. So far, no one had opted to forfeit, and the game grew boring. Maybe it didn’t occur to them at the beginning of that game that if you didn’t want to kiss the person, you could just give them an easy question. Jongin, continuing with his puckish streak, asked fun questions, though. She already knew most every embarrassing thing about Exo. The things she hadn’t known didn’t come as much of a surprise; though she did learn that Chanyeol lost his virginity in the back of a car parked under a bridge. Not that she needed that information. And she learned that Taehyung was a massive lightweight when it came to alcohol as he was currently dozing in his chair next to her.

It was Jungkook’s turn after having answered a question from Minseok. He spun the bottle and for the first time in this ridiculous game, it landed on Io.

“Finally!” Chanyeol pumped his fist. “Io can stop acting like she’s bored with all of us! Jungkook-ah, please tell me you have a good question for her.”

Jungkook looked panicked and Io stifled a laugh because she couldn’t stop thinking about how accurate the “Jungshook” meme was when Jungkook was flustered. He couldn’t think of anything and looked to Jimin for help. Jimin grinned like the Cheshire Cat and leaned over to whisper something in Jungkook’s ear. Jungkook nodded. “Io,” he began, “who was your first kiss?” The Exo boys let out a chorus of groans, already knowing the answer.

“It was Sehun when they were ten or something. Baby stuff,” Baekhyun sighed. “I call foul. We already knew the answer to that one. Ask another.”

“We’re making up rules as we go, then?” Io crossed her legs accidentally kicking Taehyung under the table, disturbing him from his dozing.

“Only way to live life, sweetheart.” Baekhyun smirked at her and lazily tossed a walnut chunk into his mouth.

Jimin smiled mischievously and once again leaned over to whisper in Jungkook’s ear. “Okay. Io, who was your first _real_ kiss?” The Exo boys looked from Sehun to Io and oohed.

“I have to answer?” Io asked, looking down at her lap, her face flushed. There was no way she could tell them her first real kiss was Jongin when she was eighteen. Sehun would kill them both.

“Answer or pay the forfeit,” Baekhyun answered gleefully, lifting his drink.

Io shrugged. “Fine. Forfeit.” She stood and leaned across Jimin to give Jungkook a peck on the lips.

“Boooo!” Baekhyun threw a sugar packet at her. “Three seconds or it doesn’t count!”

Io leaned over Jimin again, this time gripping the collar of Jungkook’s shirt and pulling him toward her to press her lips to his. She closed her eyes and counted four seconds in her head just so they would be satisfied.

The stunned Jungkook was met with riotous laughter and several claps on the back. Jimin pinched the maknae’s cheek.

“Who was it?” Sehun asked quietly. Even as quiet as he was, the tone still carried through the room, dissolving the cheer.

“I paid the forfeit,” Io stated, copying his serious tone.

“Who was it?” He asked again.

“Dongsaeng, stop,” Jongin intervened. “She did the forfeit. She doesn’t have to answer.”

Sehun slowly turned to look at his older brother, jaw clenched tight. “Yeah,” he nodded. “I thought so.” With nothing else to say, Sehun pushed back from the table and left the room. No one attempted to stop him.  

“So, this is over,” Junmyeon announced wearily as he stood from the table. The rest of Exo followed suit. “Gentlemen,” he nodded to the BTS members, “it’s been a pleasure. Next time maybe let’s skip the drinks.” Junmyeon gripped Baekhyun by back of his collared shirt. “Come along, Troublemaker.”

Io didn’t move. She burrowed deeper into her chair and crossed her arms under her breasts. “Io.” Junmyeon motioned for her to stand and come with them.

Io waved him off. “I’ll walk back. It’s fine.”

“I’m not leaving you to walk half of Hong Kong,” Junmyeon growled at her stubbornness.

“You really think shutting me in a van with Sehun is worth it right now?” Io knew letting Sehun have his time to cool off was in the best interest of everyone. Their fights were legendary and anyone who had been around them long enough knew that forcing them to talk it out was never the best course of action. If she were shut up in a van with him now, she might say something stupid that would ultimately start a bigger fight. Junmyeon knew it was best to let the smaller fires burn themselves out rather than pour gasoline on them.

“We’ll take her,” Namjoon suggested. “We have two vans. We’re all going to the same place. She’ll be safe with us.” She saw Junmyeon’s Adam’s apple bob and she imagined he was trying to force down the idea of trusting her with someone else. Namjoon must have been thinking the same thing because he looked Junmyeon in the eyes to reassure him before adding “You can trust her with me.”

“Yeah,” Junmyeon settled before turning to Io. “But you call me as soon as you get to your room, do you understand?”

She gave him a mock salute purely out of annoyance at being treated like a child and was satisfied at the way the corners of his mouth turned down.

.

Io crawled into the back seat of the van tugging Taehyung with her while Namjoon shoved Hosek into his seat. Yoongi and Jungkook were also struggling to get Jin and Jimin in the van behind them. Jin wanted to hug everyone and Jimin was whining that he wanted to ride in the van with Io and Tae. “Jungkook, pick him up. I’m tired of dealing with him,” Yoongi demanded when Jimin tried to make a break for the other van but ended up falling and hitting the concrete.

Namjoon closed the van’s side door behind them and took his seat. Io buckled herself in first and then had to shove Taehyung’s butt to the side so she could dig out his seat belt.

“Io?” Taehyung hummed and smiled sloppily at her when she leaned across him to grab the other end of the belt and clicked it closed. “Can I put my head in your lap?”

 “Did you have too much to drink?” she asked, patting his cheek.

“Maybe just a bit.” He struggled to hold his arm up and pinched his fingers to indicate a small amount.

“You can put your head in my lap. Just warn me if you’re going to vomit.” She held his head as he halfway fell across her and proceeded to cuddle against her like a very large puppy.

“Not going to throw up,” he assured her, patting her knee. “Too tired to throw up.”

He sighed deeply and let his long arm drop over the side of the seat. Io smiled and raked her fingers through his hair, scratching at his scalp and running a hand over his back. It’s what she liked to have done for her when she wasn’t feeling well. “That feels nice,” he mumbled against her jeans. “You’re such a good Noona.”

“Tae, I’m younger than you.”

He shook his head. “You’re Io Noona. You take care of me.”

“I take it this means you’ve forgiven me for taking your phone?”

“Mmmhmmm.”

Namjoon tried to sneak a picture of the pair having forgotten that he didn’t switch his phone to vibrate. The artificial shutter sound echoed in the small space and Io looked up. Namjoon had the decency to look a little embarrassed at being caught. “You know you can’t post that anywhere.” She smiled kindly and Namjoon felt the relief settle in his stomach. He didn’t know her opinion on others taking pictures of her in intimate moments. “Your public relations team will be working overtime.”

Namjoon shoved his phone back into his pocket and shrugged. “I know. I wanted it so that he can relive this shame tomorrow. I’ll delete it if you want. I didn’t ask your permission.”

“I’m not bothered,” she assured him, returning to rubbing Taehyung’s back. “If it were someone I didn’t trust, yes. But I don’t have a problem with you guys taking pictures of me.”

Hoseok made a noise and curled into the fetal position in his chair. Hong Kong passed by outside the windows and before too long, they were back at the hotel. The other members met them at the back entrance. She shook Tae awake and he sat up, wiping a little bit of drool from his mouth. Hoseok was able to stand on his own now and Jin was just happy to see everyone again. “Can Io staying with us?” Jimin asked.

“No.” Namjoon answered shortly, pushing Taehyung over to Jungkook. Tae protested at being manhandled. “I’m walking Io to her room. Can you handle them?” Namjoon asked Yoongi. Jungkook was still shouldering the bulk of Taehyung’s weight and had already started walking toward the elevators.

“We’ve got it,” Yoongi confirmed with a nod, pulling Jin away from where he was hugging Io. Io kissed Jimin on the cheek and let the elevator door close, taking the others up to their floor.

Namjoon pushed the elevator button again to call one for themselves.

“Are you staying with Sehun? Where are they? Twenty-third floor?” he asked when the elevator came.

“I have my own room. Thirty-fifth floor,” she answered, pushing the button. The doors shut behind them and Namjoon watched Io lean against the glass wall of the elevator and close her eyes with a sigh.

“Are you okay?” he asked cautiously.

“Are you asking because of the blowup at the awards, or the blowup at dinner?”

He shrugged. “Both.”

She sighed again. “The awards thing… The guys tend to get a little protective of me.”

“Understatement. I don’t think I’ve ever been so afraid of Junmyeon. I’ve _never_ been afraid of Junmyeon before tonight,” he corrected himself.

“They have reasons to be protective. People aren’t always trustworthy, you know? And Sehun and I, we get into fights all the time about it. We have this brother/sister dynamic where we don’t always like each other, but at the end of the day, he’s the person I trust most in the world. But Junmyeon was just a dick.”

Namjoon laughed but quickly apologized. “I’ve never seen him like that,” she continued. “And I think it hurt more because it was Junmyeon? I’ve known them all since I was thirteen. But with Junmyeon, I’ve always harbored this deep respect for him that eventually became a small infatuation. Not that I would ever tell him.”

Namjoon nodded, understanding. “You have a crush on him, and that’s the one rule.”

She sucked a breath in through her teeth and nodded. “Yep. Even if he were interested in me, it wouldn’t matter. No dating Sehun’s bandmates. But now the rule apparently has extended to all Idols. Damn. I guess that means I’ll never have a chance with Suzy.”

The elevator doors opened, and he stared after her as she walked ahead of him. Had he read somewhere that she like girls? He couldn’t remember. “You have a crush on Suzy?”

She tossed him a smile over her shoulder and stopped so that he could catch up to her. “Who doesn’t have a crush on Suzy?”

“He seemed to care an awful lot about you talking with me at the show for someone that’s not interested in you,” Namjoon offered.

Io shook the idea off. “It’s not even worth considering, honestly. I’d be flattered, of course. There are small moments where he looks at me and my insides flip upside down and I get goosebumps all over my skin. But a small infatuation isn’t enough for me to torture myself over. This is me,” she indicated her head toward the door she had stopped at and pulled her key card from her jacket pocket. “3516.”

The light on the scanner flashed green and she pushed her way into the room leaving the door open behind her as an invitation for Namjoon to come in. He hesitated at the doorway but stepped inside anyway, closing the door behind them.

“Is it a rule you’ve ever considered breaking?” he asked, standing awkwardly in the entranceway.

“No.” She shook her head and emptied her pockets onto the nightstand and tossed her jacket onto the chair next to bed.

“Not even once?”

“Not even ever.” She kicked off her shoes and pushed her suitcase to the side so she could sit cross-legged on the bed. “It’s not a rule that I necessarily agree with, and, honestly, it’s getting more difficult to hold to as we get older and the loneliness creeps in more and more. It wasn’t technically breaking the rule, but there was a moment that toed the line. The question Jungkook asked at dinner… Sehun was right; the answer was Jongin.” She motioned for him to sit in the chair next to bed so he could stop standing over her. He did, keeping what he thought was a respectful distance from where she was sitting.  

“I was eighteen and I’d never had a real kiss before,” she continued. “The guys knew, and it became a kind of punchline for them.” She squinted at the memory. “I started to think I’d never been kissed because no one wanted to kiss me... that maybe there was something wrong with me. They didn’t realize that it knocked down my self-esteem or they would have stopped. Jongin and I have never had romantic feelings for each other, but he’s the one I’m closest to after Sehun. He noticed. And he offered to kiss me, so I let him. It was sweet and I’m happy I have that memory, but it was supposed to be just for us. I’ve never considered actually dating any of the guys.”

Namjoon was silent for a bit, rubbing his hands together with his elbows on his knees. “Will things be okay with you and Sehun?” he asked.

Io rolled her eyes. “It will be fine. He’s quick to anger, but also quick to forgive. And our friendship is strong. This is the only thing he’s ever asked of me and it would take much more than a secret kiss or a little crush for me to turn my back on that. He knows that. He’s a softie, really.”

“Your loyalty is really admirable,” Namjoon confessed, impressed with her maturity.  “You should tell him what you just told me.”

“Why would I do that?”

“You’re going to fall in love with someone eventually, right?” Namjoon supplied. “When you find that person, Sehun going to need to know that you weighed the risk and it’s something you care about. It’s not just a whim.”

“But you’re assuming I’ll end up with an Idol or someone he knows.”

Namjoon narrowed his eyes at her like she had just said the most ridiculous thing. “He’s going to know them. Because he’s your best friend and you’d never date someone he doesn’t approve of. That loyalty thing is a virtue and a curse.”

“Fuck,” she cursed under her breath. “You’re right. I hadn’t considered that.”

“Let’s say you were dating Seokjin,” he suggested. Io made a face and stuck her tongue out. He laughed and leaned back in the chair. “Fine. Who’s your Bangtan bias?”

Io thought for a moment, running through the guys in her head. All of them were beautiful, but that wasn’t something she was particularly concerned with. She liked Yoongi’s ‘take no shit’ attitude. Hoseok was like a having personal sun that you carried around in your back pocket. She knew Tae was artistic. So was Jungkook to an extent. Jimin was the most precious thing to walk the earth and Jin could cook. But Namjoon was intelligent, always so giving with his bandmates, and talking with him was so easy. “You, probably,” she decided after deliberating a little bit longer.

“Me?” Namjoon sat up, surprised.

“Yeah. Smart. Generous. Kind.” She ticked his attributes off on her fingers as she said them. “Those are my three big must-haves.”

“You have a crush on me?” He grinned and his nose scrunched up in what he was sure was a very unattractive way.

Io laughed and threw the piece of chocolate maid services had left on her pillow at him. “Don’t make it weird.”

“Right.” He smiled again, pushing down the way his lungs suddenly felt too big for his chest. He opened the chocolate and bit into it.

“No! That’s my chocolate.” She reached forward but it was too late.

“Maybe don’t throw things you’re not willing to lose?” He mocked but held out the other half of the chocolate for her. She took it and finished it off, licking the melty residue from her fingers. Namjoon had to blink a couple of times to remind himself that he was saying something before. “Sorry. What were we talking about?”

“You were talking about what happens when Sehun finds out I’m dating someone.” Io reminded him, pulling him back on track.

“Yeah,’ Namjoon nodded. “So, if we were dating and he thought it was just a casual fling, of course he’s going to be upset. He doesn’t want you getting used like that. But going to him before that happens and laying it all out on the table might temper him a little bit. Walking up and saying _‘Sehun, my best friend,’_ ” Namjoon batted his lashes and made his voice significantly higher to impersonate Io. But it was the girly hand gestures that had Io holding her hand to her mouth to stifle her giggles. “ _’Namjoon and I, well, we’re dating. We don’t have plan really. We just like each other.’_ That would be an example of what not to do.”

Io cleared her throat and struggled to make her face serious again. “Fine. So, what would I say to him if I had serious feelings for someone and it wasn’t a passing phase?”

This time his face grew serious and he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “ _’Sehun, you’re my best friend. I love and respect you. However, I feel this rule has become too much of a burden to bear. I have feelings for Namjoon. Real feelings. And I know that this could harm our friendship; that’s why I wanted to invite you to come speak with Namjoon. And myself. So that we could both ask your permission to do away with this rule that is keeping us from true happiness.’_ ”

Io let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Damn. That’s good.”

“Or something like that,” Namjoon sat back in the chair again, a little flustered at his own words. “It doesn’t have to be exact.”

There was a passing moment of silence between them where Io rested her chin in her hand and zoned out while Namjoon studied her. His eyes traveled over the sliver of stomach visible from her short top, but they came to rest on her face. He knew her grandfather was Korean, and he scrutinized her face, trying to determine how a Native American father and a half Swedish-half Korean mother could make something so flawless—in his opinion at least. A smattering of freckles dusted across the bridge of her nose and those big deep-set eyes would be haunting him later. They looked like pools of bright jade with little volcanic ruptures of hazel specks. And lips that looked unnervingly like to Taehyung’s but with a slight up-tilt at the edges.

He also secretly wondered if she was insecure about her skin when she visited Korea. She didn’t have that pale skin that Korean media considered beautiful. She was darker, similar to his own skin tone. When commenting on her, Korean reporters called her talented before the word beautiful. After getting to know her a little better, he imagined she was probably proud of that.

Namjoon had to shake the thoughts from his head before he fell too deep into them and developed an infatuation of his own. He didn’t have time to think about someone that much. He cleared his throat, bringing Io back from her reverie and smiled apologetically. “I should go check on the others.”

Io glanced at the clock. It was well past one in morning. “Oh. Right. And I have to call Jun to let him know you guys didn’t kidnap me.”

“Not for lack of trying on Jimin’s part,” he joked, rising from the chair. “I’ll check on you tomorrow, okay?”

“Because I definitely need another protector,” she laughed and opened the door for him.

He shrugged. “It’s too late. Taehyung called you Io Noona. You’re stuck with us.”

“I’ll give you all the royalties to my next song if he even remembers that in the morning.”

He smiled, standing just outside the door as she leaned against the door frame. He was trying to think of a way to say, ‘Thank you for letting me get to know you,’ but couldn’t think of a way to say it without sounding completely lame. Instead, he just dipped his head and wished her a good night.

“Sleep well.” Io dipped her head in return and waited until he had turned his back before she closed her door.

A loud buzzing disturbed the sudden emptiness of the room and Junmyeon’s face lit up her phone screen on the nightstand. Of course he would video call.

“Hey, she answered casually, running a finger through her hair hoping it didn’t look like a mess. “I’m back in my room.” She spun around to show him that she was, in fact, in her room.

“Safe? Because I got my ass chewed by your brother for letting you go off with ‘strangers’.” Junmyeon air mimed quotation marks.

“Safe,” Io confirmed with a nod and threw herself back onto the bed. “Namjoon walked me to my room. Just to be sure.” Junmyeon’s eyebrows furrowed at that.

“Do you like him?” he asked.

She shrugged noncommittally. “He’s a nice guy. We… vibe.” She said the word in English unable to come up with the word she wanted in Korean.

“Vibe?”

She turned over to her side so her face caught the lamplight. “We get along. Talking to him is easy. Talking to him about music is exciting. Or it was before you jerks came along.”

He offered no apology but kept his stern face on. She had seen that face often when he was annoyed at one of the others. He rarely used it on her. “Get some sleep,” he demanded after a few seconds. “We’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.”

“You, too. Sleep—” She was going to tell him to sleep well before he hung up on her. It was unusual for him to hang up without saying goodbye. She imagined that Sehun must have really made him angry if he was being this brusque with her.

Whatever the reason, she would deal with it later. She was exhausted. After sending a quick text to Sehun to let him know that she was safe in her room and she loved him, she cleared off her bed and crawled under the covers. Her head had barely hit the pillow before she was unconscious.

.

An unfamiliar sound startled Io from her sleep. She was having a really good dream and now she was annoyed. She rolled over to find the LED bedside clock read 8:35AM and she blinked at it, frustrated. She was promised she could sleep in this morning while the boys went and did press and photoshoots. She found the source of the unfortunate awakening to be the hotel room phone. Who could possibly be calling her this early in the morning?

“Mmmhmmm?” she murmured into the phone.

“Io?” she heard the deep voice of Kim Namjoon and it made her a slightly less annoyed. But only slightly.

“Namjoon? Ugh.” She groaned and pushed her face into the pillows. “Why wouldn’t you just text me instead of calling me at this ungodly hour?”

“I didn’t have your number. And after yesterday, I didn’t want to ask any of the Exo guys for it.”

“Oh. You remembered what room I was staying in?” She blinked at the unfamiliar ceiling of her hotel room.

“Yeah. I was just calling to check on you. Did you sleep well?”

She hummed and rolled back over to her side away from the light filtering in through the window. “I’m fine. The guys are doing press stuff, so I was sleeping in. Or, I was supposed to, anyway.”

She enjoyed the way that she could tell he was smiling sheepishly on the other end. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. If it were anyone else, I’d probably be annoyed,” she added flippantly.

“But I’m your bias.”

“Don’t let it go to your head.” She heard his laugh and it felt like bubbles in her chest. “Aren’t you guys doing press today, too?”

“Not today. We’re headed back to Seoul in about two hours. I’m packing now.” The sound on the other end of the phone changed. It had more of an echo and she assumed he had switched her over to speaker. There was a rustling that sounded like clothes being pushed down into a suitcase.

“Work, work, work,” she tutted.

“C’est la vie,” he sighed, resigned. “It could be worse. I could have a desk job.”

“C’est la vie,” she agreed. “Although, you at a desk job is intriguing. I can see it. You typing away at a computer wearing a sweater vest with your tie tucked neatly into it. And glasses.”

The rustling sound stopped, and his voice got louder, closer to the phone. “You have a thing for sweater vests and glasses?”

“Oh, yeah,” she nodded though he couldn’t see her. “Love me a good sweater vest.”

“If I have a desk job, does that mean you’re my secretary?”

“Secretary?” she scoffed. “If you have a desk job, I’m the CEO. Obviously.”

“Mmm. Love me a good power suit.” She could hear the smile in his voice and imagined the crinkles by his eyes.

“Have you ever thought about doing anything different?”

“Nope. It’s rough, but I love it. When I don’t love it anymore, I’ll consider other options. What about you?”

She sighed looking around at her unfamiliar surroundings. “I get tired of living out of a suitcase, but I don’t think music is ever going to stop being a part of who I am. Unless I find something that changes my priorities. If you love what you do, you keep moving forward.”

“’Opening new doors and doing new things because we’re curious,’” he completed the next line of the Walt Disney quote she knew by heart.

She smiled to herself. “Knew you’d catch that.” There was a knock on the door at his end and she heard Seokjin in the background. “Need to go?” she asked.

“Yeah. Kind of.”

“Sure. I’ll let you go, then.”

“Wait!” he said quickly just as she was pulling the phone away. “Can I call you?”

She blinked, confused. “You did call me.”

“Your phone number, Io,” he deadpanned.

“Oh!” She smacked herself on the forehead, certain that the sound was audible enough that he heard. “Sorry. Still in my sleep haze. Here.” She reached across to her nightstand to grab her cell. “Give me your number and I’ll text you so you have mine.”

He gave her his number and she sent a gif of him breaking his sunglasses followed by X eyes emoji.

She heard the phone vibrate and knew he had gotten her text. “Not sure that was entirely necessary,” he responded.

She laughed. “It was very necessary. Now leave me alone so I can go back to sleep.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

She stalled, staying still on the phone, not saying goodbye just yet. The silence just filled with things she wanted to say but didn’t.

There was another knock on his end and this time, she heard Taehyung’s voice telling Namjoon that Yoongi isn’t getting out of bed. “So flip his mattress over,” was her response, knowing she was still on speaker.

“Is that Io Noona? Can I talk to her?”

She heard the brief scuffle through the phone before Namjoon gave Taehyung a resounding “No.”

“Hyung,” Tae whined. “Io Noona took care of me last night. Let me say thank you.”

“We have to leave in fifteen minutes. Get Jimin to wake up Yoongi and you check on Jungkook and Hoseok.” There was more commotion of someone else coming in the room and she heard Jin’s voice this time telling them that the cars were already downstairs to take them to the airport. “Okay!” he huffed in English at his hyung. “I really do have to go,” he said finally to her.

“Text me when you’ve made it home safe.”

“I will.”

“Bye.”

“Bye, Io.”

 


	3. Shirtless Saturday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She scrolled a little farther to see Namjoon had sent her only one message. 11:52PM [Glad you’re back, Jagi. Call me after you’ve slept.] There was that word again. ‘Jagi.’ ‘Honey.’ ‘Baby.’ She had ignored it at first. He had let it slip a couple of weeks after they started texting. Or maybe it wasn’t a slip. She didn’t know because she had never acknowledged it in their conversations. But he had been using it more recently and every time she saw it, her heart leapt up into her throat. She rolled it around in her head when she couldn’t sleep at night. It was easier to ignore it than be straight forward and ask him. If she asked and he had feelings, it could hurt their friendship. And that wasn’t something she wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize that this chapter has more Exo than BTS. It kind of got away from me and I had to cut it into two chapters. The next one will have plenty Namjoon mushiness, I promise!

Io was meant to be working on a new album but lacked inspiration. Sure, she had a notebook full of songs, but those were old or dead or didn’t fit the aesthetic she wanted for the new album. She wanted something more honest than the one before—a little more open but with a rougher edge to it. She didn’t know _exactly_ what she was looking for, but she’d know it when she found it. Until then, her manager was pestering her about doing press to remain relevant. She gave in, like she always did, because her manager was her stepfather and he knew just the right things to say to get her to do pretty much anything she didn’t want to do. It was one of the more annoying things about the man that raised her after her father died.

After spending the last month bouncing between Los Angeles and New York, she was back in Seoul taking a break from the big fat goose egg of nothing that she’d been able to produce.  The interviewer sat across from her as one of the production managers counted them down to action. She worked very hard at suppressing a yawn that threatened to expose how jetlagged she was.

“Tso Io, welcome to our show,” the interviewer greeted her. If she remembered correctly, his name was Woo-jin.

“Thank you for having me,” she answered mechanically.

“Now, we’d like to jump right in, if that’s okay? We asked our viewers to send in their questions for you to answer. Are you up for it?”

She crossed her legs and let her hands rest in her lap. “Bring it on.”

“It’s quite a long list, so we’re going to do rapid fire; answer with the first thing that pops in your head unless you feel it needs clarification.”

She nodded, ready.

“Do you prefer monolids or double lids?”

“Either. No preference. I like both.”

“What nationality do you find most attractive?”

“Any. All. I don’t discriminate.”

“I read that you consider yourself bisexual. Is that true?”

“I feel like that’s an oversimplification. It’s more that I’m attracted to people for their personality instead of their gender or their looks. Don’t mistake me, I can appreciate when someone is attractive, but these are temporary things.”

“So, what do you look for in personality types then?”

“Someone giving who takes care of their family. Intelligence. Someone thoughtful, unwaveringly kind, and I would like for them to share my love of books and music.”

“What’s the worst advice you’ve ever been given?”

“I was told in order to appeal to a Korean audience, I should bleach my skin. That will never, ever happen.”

“What’s your biggest fear?”

“Losing someone I love.”

“Where’s your favorite place in the entire world?”

“Anywhere I can see the stars.”

“This one comes from an eight-year-old viewer in your old neighborhood in the Jungnang District named Soon Jun-il. He asks, ‘Tso Io, miss, can you help me with my English homework?’”

She smiled and nodded. “Absolutely.”

“What specific thing do you love most about South Korea?”

“The food!”

“What specific thing do you like least about South Korea?”

“The belief that universally progressive ideas are considered Western ideology. I love the culture and tradition but struggling to accept things like LGBTQ people shouldn’t be an issue in today’s society anywhere in the world, let alone beautiful South Korea.”

They bantered back and forth for a little bit longer. Io felt that she was pleasant and polite though she very much wanted to go back to her bed and sleep for twelve hours. There was a brief commercial break before she performed an acoustic version of one of her songs from the last album. It only served to remind her how much pressure she was under to produce new material. Her stepfather, William, had told her not to push herself, but that’s what she had been doing since she was thirteen. She hadn’t known any other way of life for the past eight years.

When they were finished, Io threw everything in her bag and almost ran to the car designated to take her home. Security had to jog to keep up with her. After sixteen hours of airports and flight time and then going straight to the interview, she desperately needed a nap. Walking through her door, the first thing she did was strip out of her dress. She considered falling into bed just like that but knew she would regret not taking off her makeup when she woke up and her skin felt like a dirty dishrag. Forcing herself to go through her skin care routine, she ignored the buzzing of her phone on the counter until she couldn’t stand it anymore.

Fourty-two text messages and six missed calls. She hadn’t checked her phone since leaving L.A. Io groaned as she scrolled through the messages, regretting giving Namjoon her number because he then proceeded to share it with all of the other members of BTS. She had texted Taehyung when she was boarding the plane, and they had been blowing up her phone since. She continued to scroll through the various messages from Jimin pleading with her to come visit. Or go out with them. Or visit the recording studio. Or come see the dance studio. Taehyung had sent her a cat meme. Hoseok had sent her a picture of Jimin looking at his phone and pouting. Jin sent her a picture of himself. Jungkook sent her an audio message of a song he wanted to cover, asking her opinion. And Yoongi sent her a message telling her to call them back because the others were whining, and he was annoyed.

She scrolled a little farther to see Namjoon had sent her only one message. 11:52PM [Glad you’re back, Jagi. Call me after you’ve slept.] There was that word again. ‘Jagi.’ ‘Honey.’ ‘Baby.’ She had ignored it at first. He had let it slip a couple of weeks after they started texting. Or maybe it wasn’t a slip. She didn’t know because she had never acknowledged it in their conversations. But he had been using it more recently and every time she saw it, her heart leapt up into her throat. She rolled it around in her head when she couldn’t sleep at night. It was easier to ignore it than be straight forward and ask him. If she asked and he had feelings, it could hurt their friendship. And that wasn’t something she wanted.

He had texted her most every day since they had met. ‘How are you?’ ‘Did you sleep well?’ ‘When are you coming home?’ And always with updates of what they were doing. And music. When he had spare time to call her, they would always talk about their music. She was telling him how she was emotionally blocked, and she couldn’t write anything, but she was happy for him when he talked about the various songs he was working on at the moment. But mostly, they were in their last stages of preparing for The Wings Tour that would start mid-February. He sent her videos of their choreography and general silliness and she enjoyed the friendship they had formed. She enjoyed the friendship she had formed with all of them, despite how clingy they were sometimes.

Io plugged her phone into her charger at the bedside table and dragged herself into the bed, haphazardly throwing the covers over herself. The phone buzzed loudly on the bedside table, but her body wouldn’t allow her to roll over to retrieve it, tired as she was. It was still buzzing when she drifted off, her head buried in her soft, plush pillow.

.

“Io Noona isn’t answering for me, either,” Jimin whined and ended the call without leaving a voicemail.

“She’s probably sleeping. Leave her alone,” Namjoon called from the kitchen table where he had schedules and tour dates scattered in front of him.

“Is she coming to one of our shows, you think? Should we ask her?” Jungkook asked, joining them in the living room after his workout.

“Can we do something with her tomorrow?” Taehyung questioned. “Dinner tomorrow night after rehearsal?”

Namjoon shook his head. “She’s spending time with Oh Sehun tomorrow. Exo leaves the next day for Taiwan.”

“I bet she answers _his_ calls,” Jimin pouted, looking back down at his phone.

“I bet he knows not to call her five times when she’s trying to sleep,” Namjoon reasoned, shuffling the stack of papers together. He couldn’t concentrate when they were all in his space.

“I bet she’ll answer for you,” Tae called from his spot on the couch between Hoseok and Seokjin. Seokjin was sleeping with his mouth half open, and Hoseok was playing games on his phone.

Namjoon narrowed his eyes at Tae. So far, he had managed to keep his growing feelings for Io from his brothers. “What makes you say that?”

“Aren’t girls required to answer their boyfriend’s phone calls?” Taehyung shrugged casually like he wasn’t starting a fire.

“Hyung and Noona are dating?” Jungkook’s eyes widened and his head whipped around to look at Namjoon.

Tae nodded. “I heard him up at three in the morning the other night talking to her on the phone.

Namjoon pushed against the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. “Three in the morning here is one in the afternoon in New York. Or did you forget how time zones work?”

Taehyung’s mouth formed a small ‘o’ as he realized he messed up. “Oh.”

Jungkook turned back to Namjoon. “So, you’re not dating Io Noona?”

“Who’s dating Io Noona?” Yoongi asked, strolling through the living room to get to the kitchen. Io wasn’t his Noona, but that’s what the others had taken to calling her, so the name just stuck for him.

“Joon is, supposedly.” Hoseok nodded his head in Namjoon’s direction without looking up from his game.

“Nah.” Yoongi shook his head. “Oh Sehun would kill him.”

Namjoon threw himself into one of the chairs and tossed his legs over the arm, sinking into the cushions. Dance rehearsal had gone long and he was sore all over. “I feel like murder is a strong reaction, but since Io and I aren’t dating, we don’t have to worry about it.”

“But still,” Tae continued, “talking to a girl at three in the morning when we have rehearsals all the next day is serious.”

Jungkook took the chair opposite Namjoon and took a deep draught of the water he was holding. “So, if Noona called you at three in the morning, you wouldn’t answer her?” Jungkook asked Tae.

Tae crossed his arms across his chest and pouted. “I didn’t say that.”   
  
.

“Good morning.” Namjoon answered his phone almost immediately when Io’s picture came up on the screen for a video call. “Did you sleep well?” He ran his hands through his hair trying to push down his bed head he hadn’t bothered to fix before going to the dance studio. He knew he’d just sweat it down anyway.

“Please take away Jimin’s phone,” she groaned. She was running a comb through her long wet hair. She looked like she had just gotten out of the shower and he enjoyed the sight of her all freshly scrubbed and rosy faced. “Please. For my sanity.”

“How many calls?”

Io frowned. “Only five. But twenty-eight text messages.”

Namjoon laughed softly and moved into the hallway so he could hear her more clearly. The vocal line was practicing a harmony while they had a break from more dance practice. “Only twenty-eight? That’s nothing. He’s sent me fifty-three in one night before.”

“I’m not used to this level of communication.” Io covered her face with the hand not holding the phone and scrubbed at her eyes. Her voice echoed around her and from the tile behind her, he guessed that she was in the bathroom.

“We’ve sent more than twenty-eight messages to each other in one sitting.”

“Yes, but that was a conversation. It wasn’t twenty-eight one sided texts about a cobweb in the corner of the room and wondering if the spider is lonely because you guys are gone a lot.”

“Ah. I see.” Namjoon tried very hard to keep his face neutral and not burst into laughter. “Jimin does this thing where he texts whatever is on his mind to whomever is on his mind.”

“So I’ve discovered. Should I just deal with it?”

He leaned against the hallway wall and slid down to sit on the floor. “Do you want Jimin to use his sad face on you?”

“Is it as pathetically adorable as I would imagine it to be?”

Namjoon nodded sympathetically. “Even worse.”

“Damn,” she swore. “Fine. He can keep his phone. But I have no issues with muting him if it gets up to fifty-three.”

“Did you sleep well?” he asked again.

She smiled then and he could tell she was moving to a different room. Various clothes flashed in the background behind her and then she moved into a more open, darker space. “I did. A solid eleven hours. I feel like a new woman. How about you?”

“We were in the dance studio for twelve hours yesterday.”

She leaned forward and light illuminated her face. She must have turned on a lamp and he could see the space behind her now was her bedroom. “You basically died as soon as you hit the pillow, I take it.”

He sighed and took another gulp of water. “It was a glorious feeling right up until the sun woke me up at seven this morning.”

She moved back into her closet for a moment. He could hear hangers moving and drawers being pulled open and shut. “What are you guys doing?” she asked, walking again.

“We’re back at it,” he explained wiping sweat from his forehead. “I’m taking a water break. What are you doing?”

“Just got out of the shower.” She tilted the phone down to show that she still had her towel wrapped around her. “Putting on clothes and heading over to Junmyeon’s place.”

“Junmyeon?” His eyes narrowed at the screen.

She tilted the phone up and placed it somewhere so that he was looking up at her ceiling. He could still hear her and what sounded like clothes rustling. “We’re hanging out and watching a movie.”

“With Junmyeon?” he repeated.

“And the others. We’re doing a big dinner and a movie thing tonight before they leave tomorrow. Was that...? I can’t see your face, but you sounded jealous.” Her voice was a little muffled, but he still couldn’t see what she was doing.

“I thought you were ditching us to hang out with Junmyeon,” he responded, trying to play the whole thing off.

She leaned over her phone so that her head was visible. Her hair fell forward and she bounced a little like he had to do when the stylists put him in skinny jeans. “Oh. Yeah, no. Sehun will be there and after he found out about the very innocent and platonic kiss with Jongin, he’s been extra uptight.”

“I’m glad things are back to normal,” he joked

Io picked the phone back up and used the camera to check her reflection. She ran her fingers through her hair to get rid of the bumps that she had missed with her comb. “It was the fact that it was ‘behind his back’ that he had the most issue with, I think.”

“Yeah. I’d be pretty upset if you were dating Seokjin behind my back.”

Io made a disgusted face at the camera. “What is your obsession with me dating Seokjin?”

Namjoon shrugged with a little smile. “He still thinks he’s your bias. I enjoy letting him live in his delusion.”

“I’m still shocked you haven’t bragged that it’s you.”

“I think about it sometimes,” he admitted, “but they really love you and I don’t want to take that away from them. They wouldn’t be bitter, but I think we’re all happy with the balance right now.”

“It has to be so hard being the leader.”

She gave him a soft, sad smile and he returned it. “You love it and you hate it sometimes. Just like with everything else,” he replied.

“I like the way you say things.” She echoed his words back to him from the night they met and his heart flipped over in his chest.

He licked his lips, very close to confessing that he had been developing feelings for her before the door to the studio burst open and Hoseok poked his head out. “We’re waiting on you,” Hoseok informed him, his serious face on so Namjoon knew he wouldn’t tolerate giving him a few more minutes. Namjoon waited for the door to close before turning his attention back to Io.

“I have to go,” he said.

She nodded. “Me, too.”

“Will we see you tomorrow? There’s a storm coming in and I don’t want you to be by yourself.”

“You’ll see me tomorrow,” she smiled, “storm or no storm.”

“See you then.” And then, softly, but loud enough for her to hear, he added “Jagi.” He ended the call before she had time to respond.

.

Io sighed, content and already having eaten her fill of the Italian takeout she had ordered for most of the Exo boys as a send off meal before they left tomorrow. Some were spending time with their families tonight, but most of them were still able to make it for dinner. She was tucked underneath Sehun’s arm on Junmyeon’s couch, leaning with her back against his side and his arm draped across her stomach. Every now and then, he would fidget and drum his fingertips against her hip.

She mindlessly scrolled through reddit on her phone as they watched a Jason Statham movie. It was one she had already seen, though she couldn’t remember the title. The only thing she remembered about it was Jason’s character fucking Amy Smart in the middle of L.A.’s Chinatown because he had to keep his heartrate up or he would die. That was the scene that was playing when she heard Baekhyun sigh.

“Christ, I need a girlfriend,” he lamented. He had been sitting on the floor in front of Jongin and he just kind of let the rest of his body fall over until he was lying on the floor with his cheek pressed against the hardwood.

“Your right hand not doing it for you?” Io asked, not particularly concerned with the answer.

“Io, you’re not supposed to know about such things.” Junmyeon frowned.

“Please,” she scoffed, putting her phone in her lap. “My best friend is a dude and I’ve seen all of you jerks pop a hard one at some point in the time I’ve known you.”

“Yeah. When you’re walking around in those little tank tops you like to wear,” Kyungsoo accused.

“Yah!” Sehun sat up, startling her. “That’s my baby sister!”

She pushed Sehun back against the cushions in an effort to calm him. “You guys walk around shirtless _and_ pantless in front of me all the time.”

Chanyeol waved her off. “That’s different.”

“That’s misogynistic,” she argued. “It’s okay for you because you’re a guy, but it’s not okay for me because I have breasts? I was born in Sweden. I am not a modest person. But I cover up _mostly_ around you guys because I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. But I can walk around shirtless and pantless, too, if you like.”

“Well, I vote yes,” Chanyeol raised his hand after a beat where everyone was silent.

“No!” Jongin and Sehun screamed at him. Junmyeon hit Chanyeol in the face with a pillow.

“Goodness,” Junmyeon sighed, pushing himself up from his chair. “I’m getting some water.”

“We will all make an effort to wear more clothes around you,” Jongin conceded, “if you promise to never, ever do that.”

Io shook her head. “Excuse me, I was complaining that you guys were misogynists. I was _not_ complaining about you guys walking around shirtless. Please don’t take away the only form of entertainment I have left.”

“Well, I vote yes,” Chanyeol said again, tugging off his shirt and standing with his arms outspread for Io to gaze upon him like some kind of Hellenistic statue.

“Yes!” Io exclaimed laughing. “I like that!” She sat up like she was about to leave the couch but Sehun grabbed her arm.

Sehun covered her eyes and pulled her back against him. “Put your clothes back on, you fool!” he shouted at Chan.

“I dunno, it _is_ a little hot in here,” Baekhyun added before grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulled it over his head.

Kyungsoo followed the others’ lead. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

Sehun looked at Jongin who was already pulling at the buttons on his shirt. “Don’t you do it,” Sehun seethed.

Maintaining eye contact, Jongin opened the rest of the buttons and let the shirt fall from his shoulders. He leaned back into the couch cushions and continued drinking his soda like nothing in the world bothered him.

Junmyeon heard the commotion even before he turned the corner as he was heading back from the kitchen with his water. He stopped in his tracks when he saw that everyone in his living room excepting Sehun and Io had discarded their shirts and Sehun was looking murderous. He laughed. He couldn’t help himself. This was so typical of his brothers and yet so unexpected. If Sehun bothered to stop and think about the things they’d done to him over the years, he’d see that a lot of his misery was his own fault because he was so easy to rile up. Junmyeon knew this all had to have something to do with Io.

He watched her fondly, lying on the floor in front of the couch where she and Sehun were just sitting. She was doubled over laughing at Sehun who was being accosted by Kyungsoo and Baekhyun. The maknae was fighting to keep his shirt on while the others were trying to remove it. They finally succeeded in pulling it off him and he sat in the middle of the floor with his arms across his chest, sulking.

Io caught her breath and crawled on her hands and knees to sit beside her best friend and leaned into him happily. When she looked up, her eyes caught sight of Junmyeon and they shared a smile before Junmyeon slipped his own shirt over his head and joined his brothers.

“Please,” Io choked, still laughing. “Please, you guys have to let me take a picture of this.” She crawled back over the sofa to retrieve her phone and directed all the guys to crowd around Sehun who was still moping.

“You’re not sending that to anyone are you?” Junmyeon asked, suddenly concerned how it would look for Io to be surrounded by six shirtless men.

“Just Taehyung,” Io assured him.

“Do you like Taehyung?” Baekhyun teased, looking over Io’s shoulder at the picture.

“He reminds me a lot of Jongin,” she shrugged.

“Do you plan on kissing him?” Sehun threw in, successfully retrieving his shirt and pulling it back on.

“Stop being a jerk,” Io reprimanded him.

“Stop making out with my friends,” he countered.

Io threw up her hands in frustration. “It was two years ago. We can let it go now.”

“It was two years ago for you,” he argued. “I just found out about this.”

“You found out a month ago. And it wouldn’t have happened if you guys weren’t making fun of me for being a kissless virgin at eighteen.”

It was an argument that she knew would happen eventually. She had explained to Sehun, and she assumed he would tell the others, but they hadn’t talked about it as a group. Sehun seemed to be under the impression that he was the only one that could bring it up, and only when he wanted to throw an underhanded remark at Io.

“We didn’t know it hurt your feelings,” Junmyeon tried to explain.

Io pointed at Jongin who was still sitting on the couch and away from an argument he wasn’t involved in. “He knew. And he’s the only one that didn’t make fun of me. So, if we’re talking about how shitty it was of me to kiss one of your bandmates, let’s talk about how shitty it is that you assholes, and especially you,” she pointed at Sehun, “would have lost your goddamn minds if I did have sex. Even now, I’m twenty-one years old and you make a scene in the middle of the MAMAs because you think I’m interested in Namjoon.”

“Io,” Baekhyun cautiously approached her. “We joke around a lot because Sehun hates it when we call you hot, but you know we think of you like our little sister, too, right? That’s what siblings do. We tease you and protect you because you belong to all of us.”

Junmyeon winced because he knew immediately that that was exactly the wrong thing to say. “I do not belong to you,” she snapped harshly causing Baekhyun to take a step back.

“Stop,” Junmyeon barked, startling all of them. He hadn’t had to use that tone with them in a while.  “Apologize,” he commanded Baekhyun.

“But I was saying nice things!” Baekhyun held his hands up, defeated.

Junmyeon shook his head. Children. They were all children. “Io,” he began, taking both of her hands in his and kneeling in front of her to beg forgiveness. “We’re sorry we didn’t consider your feelings. You’ve been in our lives for almost ten years and we forget sometimes that we can’t treat you like you’re the scrawny little thirteen-year-old we met when we were kids. We’re jerks sometimes and we know that. We get protective because we love you, not because you belong to us. Please forgive us.” He bowed his head and let his forehead rest against her hands, still in his.

She looked around at the others and they nodded, agreeing with Junmyeon. Even Sehun who she was certain would stick to his position that he did nothing wrong.

“We’re sorry.” Kyungsoo dipped his head in her direction. The others did the same, all of them apologizing and part of her wanted to smack them all for being stupid in the first place. But mostly, she just wanted everything to go back to normal and have them all back by her side.

Sehun, looking as crushed as she had ever seen him, moved on his knees to take Junmyeon’s spot in from of Io. He wrapped his arms around her hips and buried his face in her stomach. “I’m sorry, too.” His voice was muffled against the fabric of her shirt. “I should have noticed you were hurting but I didn’t. I won’t bring it up again.” He pulled her tighter and she put her hand on his head to keep her balance.  “Please hug me back,” he whined. She did. She tugged at his arms until he stood and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and she pressed her face into his neck.

“Me, too,” Jongin finally joined as he had been very careful to stay out of the argument. He stood and hugged Io from behind, sandwiching her between himself and Sehun.

“I like this,” Baekhyun sighed and threw himself into the hug on Io’s side.

“Yep. This is happening.” Kyungsoo joined them.

“I love our family,” Chanyeol smiled and motioned his head at Junmyeon. “Come on. You know you want in on this, too, you big-hearted marshmallow.”  

“Yeah, yeah,” Junmyeon rolled his eyes and took the open spot on Io’s left, throwing his arms around his brothers and resting his forehead against Io’s hair.

.

Staying the night at Sehun’s place had always been a normal thing for Io, when he lived with his parents, when he moved into a dormitory with the other members, and even now that he had his own place. They had shared a bed since they were young, and it never occurred to Io to be bothered by it as an adult.

She crawled into bed first, exhaling slowly as she made herself comfortable. She and Sehun both shared a love for soft mattresses—big, soft mattresses that a person can sink into. Sehun always let her have bathroom privileges first so that she could change in his room while he was doing his nightly skin routine. She heard him brush his teeth and rinse, flipping the light switch off as he came into the bedroom and made very nearly the same sound as Io as he burrowed under the covers next to her.

“Today was a good last day, in spite of everything,” he said into the darkness. “I feel like I’m having a hard time coming to terms with you being a woman now. I’m not handling it very well.”  

“I feel like we’ve been dancing around it. It had to blow up sooner or later.”

He turned onto his side to face her. The diffuser he kept on his bedside table cast a colorful ever-changing ethereal glow over their faces, just enough to see by. “You really never had feelings for Jongin?” he asked, his eyes searching her face.

She shook her head. “Nothing other than friendship.”

“What about Namjoon?” She was silent for a beat and he noticed her hesitation and the way her eyes darted away from his. “Jun told me about your conversation—the night you and I weren’t talking.”

“I really don’t know,” she admitted, finally able to meet his eyes again. “Namjoon is personable. Excitable. He gets me hyped about music and especially now when I’m so blocked I can’t write anything, I think a lot about what he would do in my situation. I admire him and respect him.”

Sehun seemed to take this as an answer. He nodded and leaned in to kiss Io on the forehead before sinking down into the covers. “Just please don’t keep anything from me again. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she replied softly, rolling over onto her stomach.  

.

“Io sent me a picture!” Taehyung yelled across the dance studio. Rehearsal had run late since they were planning on taking some time off the next day to spend with Io. “Oh,” he mouthed, opening the photo.

“What?” Hoseok asked, sidling up to Taehyung. “What is it?” Hoseok’s eyebrows shot up when Tae tilted the phone to show him the screen. “Oh.”

“Is it a selfie? I bet she looks cute. What’s she doing?” Jimin bounced over to his brothers and Taehyung held out the phone for Jimin to see. “Oh.” Jimin made a face and tilted his head to the side. “Why is everyone shirtless?”

Namjoon had tried not to let his curiosity get the better of him. He would wander over eventually, pretending like he didn’t care when really, he was dying to see the picture Io had sent to Tae and not to him. He checked his phone again. Nothing.

“Excuse me?” he exclaimed at hearing Jimin’s question. He stalked over to the group that had formed and grabbed the phone from Taehyung’s hand. “Shirtless Saturday,” he read the caption out loud frowning down at the phone.

8:14PM [Are you still at Junmyeon’s? Why is everyone shirtless?] he furiously texted from his own phone. He had to remind himself to take a breath. They weren’t dating. So where did this sudden jealousy come from? She could do what she liked. She _did_ do what she liked.

It took her more than an hour to reply to him. 9:52PM [At Sehun’s now. Staying the night here. I’ll explain tomorrow. It’s been a weird night.] she replied.

‘It’s been a weird night,’ she had said. But what did that mean? Did it have something to do with Junmyeon? And, really, why was everyone shirtless? Was it really necessary that they looked that good and they were walking around like that in front of Io? The questions consumed him long after dance practice had ended, in the shower, and even as he lay awake in bed. The thoughts still plagued him until, exhausted, he fell asleep in the early hours of the morning. He dreamed of her.  


	4. I Change Shapes Just to Hide in This Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “But you planned on getting me in your room?” she asked casually, running a hand across the top of the computer on his desk and toyed with the figurines he had on the shelves above. Namjoon was pulling a small trundle bed from underneath his own. She took the opportunity to observe her surroundings while he fussed with the little cot, kicking open the bracers to stabilize the legs. His room was decorated nicely, if a little cluttered with all of his collectibles. His bed was smaller, to fit the smaller room. A full size, she guessed, with a grey fabric headboard. And she was enveloped by a scent that she could only describe as distinctly male. It was that nice boy smell that was something like musk and eucalyptus. She breathed it in again letting it fill her senses.
> 
> “If I say I planned on getting you in my room, that makes me sound like a jerk,” he argued as he reached over her to grab extra blankets and some pillows from the top of the closet behind her. He effectively trapped her with his body, tossing the bedding blindly behind him onto the cot. “This is just a very happy coincidence.”

“Surprise!” Io held up both of her arms lined with bags of takeout. She had called ahead to let Namjoon know she was on her way over to their place with food. He met her at the door. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to be here?”

Namjoon laughed and took some of the bags from her, motioning for her to take her shoes off and come inside. “We have an agreement that to bring a guest back to the dorm, everyone needs to give permission. They’ve been annoying me all day asking when you’ll be over. So, yeah, you’re welcome here.”

She looked around at the expansive apartment. It had a generous amount of space and large windows to let the light in. There wasn’t a lot of light to be had at the moment, however. It looked as though she had only just beaten the storm that was crossing in from the South West and looming over Seoul. Dark clouds gathered outside the windows, threatening one hellacious thunderstorm if the way they blotted out the sun was any indication.

It was 2PM—later than she had intended. She had Skype meetings with her manager/stepfather William for a large chunk of the morning. He was at home in Stockholm working on booking photoshoots and magazine covers. She had invitations to parties and galas and requests to donate to this charity or that charity. It was awards season and she never stayed still for very long. He left it up to her to confirm or deny the appointments. He was good like that. He had always been good to her, letting her choose her own path, while gently advising. It must be a difficult thing, she thought when she was younger, to love another man’s child. Almost as difficult as it was to call another man ‘dad’ when she had lost her own. But William was patient. And he did love her as a daughter, she knew, even if it was still a difficult thing to for her to call him father.

Namjoon joined her next to the window, bags still in their hands. “Looks like you made it just in time.”

Io heard a _Hmmph_ from one of the couches behind her. They were faced away toward the large TV in the living room so she couldn’t see who the voice belonged to, but she didn’t even have to guess because a second later— “She comes to visit us, she could at least bring food.”

Min Yoongi’s disheveled black hair poked up just over the top of one of the couches.

“And what do you call this, grumpy butt?” Io fished out a cream cheese wonton from one of the containers and leaned over the back of the couch to wave the fried pastry in his face.

“Okay. You can stay,” he conceded, leaning forward to take a bite from the wonton.

Io laughed at him and leaned farther over the back of the couch to give him an upside-down kiss on the nose. Her long hair fell over and around them, tickling the side of Yoongi’s face and she was gratified with another _hmmmph_ , but this time it was amusement instead of annoyance.

“I know you adore me, Min Yoongi,” she teased, tilting her head slightly while still upside down if for no reason than to make him laugh. “Admit it.”

He smiled his gummy smile at her and poked her nose. “I like you better when you bring food.”

“If you promise to always smile at me like that. I promise to always bring you food.”

“Deal,” he nodded.

Namjoon watched them without concern or jealousy. Okay, maybe a little jealousy. She had entered their lives so suddenly and seamlessly filled a place in their hearts that they hadn’t known they were missing. The other members loved her and texted her often, called her often, video chatted as much as they could with the time difference and crazy schedules. Taehyung seemed to be the most attached, other than himself, of course. Jimin asked about her the most, especially after Namjoon had to tell him to cut back on texting her when she was busy. And there was a quiet sort of reverence that Jungkook held for her that Namjoon understood but concerned him. As much as the members adored her, there was still so much about her that they didn’t know.

He watched her pop the other half of the wonton Yoongi didn’t eat in her mouth and smile. She swished her hips and hummed a little song he recognized while she started to unpack the bags of food onto the dining room table. “Did you sleep well?” she asked him, pulling him from his thoughts.

“I did,” he nodded, and began to unpack the food bags he held as well. “I had a really nice dream.”

“Yeah?” she questioned curiously. “About what?”

He folded up the last of the paper bags to put them in the recycling and tapped her on the nose with a sheathed pair of chopsticks. “If I tell you, it won’t come true.”

“I think that only counts for wishes,” she chuckled. “Plates?”

“In the cabinet above the sink.” He followed behind her, directing her with his hand on her lower back. He thought he felt her stiffen initially at his touch, but she relaxed before he was even certain there was something wrong in the first place. “Is it okay that I touched you?” he asked, concerned. “I should have asked permission.”

She shook her head and reached up to count out eight ceramic plates from the cabinet above her. “You don’t have to ask permission. I’m not bothered.”

“I thought you were uncomfortable for a second.”

“I should be used to it,” she shrugged. “People touching me. Costume changes. Makeup. Running microphones through my clothes. It still just catches me off guard sometimes. But I know you. I don’t have any reservations with you touching me. Also, since when are you concerned with boundaries when you call me Jagi more than half the time?”

He smiled sheepishly, his dimples cutting deep into his cheeks. But before he was able to come up with an answer, a blur had swooped in and had Io off of her feet in seconds.

“Io Noona!” Tae shouted even though his mouth was very close to her ear. She grabbed onto him tightly as he spun her around, the sudden loss of gravity making her head swim.

His shout called attention to the rest of the house and the rest of the members filtered into the eating area taking turns hugging her and opening the takeout containers to see what she had brought. Jimin struggled hard between wanting to dig into the food and hugging her again, but eventually his stomach gave a lurch and he dug through the food until he found the dumplings and shoved one in his mouth.

Taehyung attached himself to her back, hugging her around the middle and rested his chin on her shoulder as she finished opening up the rest of the containers. “I missed you,” he sighed. “We’ve been working hard, and we needed this break.”

“You guys look great, though.” She reached a hand back and patted him on the head. “I enjoy the videos you guys send me.”

“Speaking of videos…” Hoseok interjected himself into the conversation. “Or picture, as the case may be. Why were you taking selfies with Exo half naked?”

She snorted very unattractively and covered her mouth only a little bit embarrassed. “They were trying to tell me to wear more clothes around them when they walk around shirtless and pantless in front of me all the time. I called them out on their double standard bullshit. I can’t remember how it devolved into them taking off their shirts. Sehun, of course, was annoyed I was actually enjoying shirtless men so he sulked and it started an argument. Weird day. But still fun.”

She unwound Taehyung’s hands from her stomach, and he pouted but sat down at the table while she passed around the plates. “Eat a lot!” she told them. She ended up between Seokjin and Namjoon. It didn’t help when Namjoon wiggled his eyebrows at her and motioned to Seokjin who had already begun to shove noodles into his mouth before they had even touched his plate. Io glared back at Namjoon and thumped him on the thigh.

“Io Noona,” Jimin addressed her with a mouthful of chicken, “Did you have fun at the Grammys?”

“I did.” She leaned over Namjoon to hand Jimin her phone so he could look through her pictures. “You’ll be there soon enough. But we’re both going to be at the Billboard Awards in May, right?”

Namjoon nodded silently, having just stuffed a large amount of beef and broccoli into his mouth.

“Wait. Who is this?” Jimin was halfway across Namjoon’s lap before she could focus on the image Jimin had brought up on her phone.

“That’s Shawn Mendes,” she explained, swiping to the next picture—a selfie of her and Shawn in front of the East River. “He wasn’t at the Grammy’s, but we were in New York at the same time and had lunch.”

Jimin frowned “I know who Shawn Mendes is. Do you like him more than you like us?”

“Why are you having lunch with someone else?” Tae said through a mouthful of rice. “You’re my noona and I didn’t say you could date anyone.”

“Okay. Let’s travel this delusion for a second.” She set her chopsticks aside while Jimin was continuing to scroll through her pictures. “If I were to need your permission to date someone, which, let’s be clear, I do not, how would I go about getting this permission?”

“He has to come meet us like a man,” Seokjin stated. “Our Io Noona doesn’t date guys that can’t look us in the eyes.”

“Sure,” she nodded. “Except the flaw in your plan is that I also like girls so…”

Seokjin and Hoseok looked at one another. Hoseok shook his head and shrugged at his hyung. “Okay,” Seokjin started again, “New plan. You date only girls.”

Io shook her head. “You’re acting like jealous boyfriends. Shawn and I were talking about music. I’ve been trying to work on some new songs, but I’m not getting anywhere. I’m blocked and it’s been frustrating.” The others nodded, understanding the obstacles that come with being a musician. She looked around at them, thinking How similar they were in ages. Most were older, yes, but for a KPOP band that was already so well-known in America and only getting more popular, she was excited to exchange ideas and learn from their growth.

“Why do you call me Io Noona?” she asked them. She noticed that they had all called her that at some point except for Namjoon. “I was born in ’96. I’m younger than every single one of you except the baby.”

Jungkook’s ears reddened at her nickname for him. “You took care of me the first night you met me,” Taehyung supplied. “You didn’t have to, but you did. So now you’re my noona.”

“I know why _you_ call me Io Noona,” she pointed her chopsticks in his direction. “And I’m fine with it, I guess. But why does everyone else call me Io Noona?”

“If he gets to, I get to,” Jimin jumped in motioning back and forth between himself and Taehyung. “We’re the same age.”

“They’ve said it so much,” added Hoseok, gesturing to Jimin and Taehyung, “it’s all I know.”

“Same,” Jin said.

“I’m used to it now and I’m not changing,” Yoongi threw in noncommittally. “And she’s more mature than any of you brats.”

Io sighed, resigned to her responsibility as the new unofficial big sister of six boys. “And what about you?” she asked, turning to her left to speak to Namjoon. “Are you calling me Io Noona, too?”

“I think you already know what I call you,” he answered quietly. It was unexpected enough that she felt the heat rush into her face and quickly busied herself with moving the orange chicken around on her plate.

Taehyung tapped his chopsticks against the edge of his plate. “Did we miss something?” he asked.

Io felt the blush deepen, burning up her skin. “Yeah,” Hoseok nodded. “We definitely missed something.”

Io swallowed and pushed down the lump in her throat. “This Singapore mei fun is spicy,” she fanned herself with her hand, in a pathetic attempt to convince the others that she wasn’t turning scarlet at the mere suggestion of casual flirting. “What did we miss?”

“What does Joon call you?” Seokjin turned his body in her direction. Even though she knew he was harmless, the gesture was a little imposing.

“He calls me Io,” she lied. She wasn’t sure if Namjoon had told them of the nickname he had for her but telling them the truth would only cause them to make something out of what was clearly nothing. “Like everyone else on the planet except you delinquents. But when he gets really sassy, he likes to call me Tso Io because he knows how much it annoys me.”

.

“We should play the game again,” Jimin suggested when they were bored with watching TV. It was just past five in the afternoon now and the torrential rain had started to come down outside. Loud thunderclaps shook the windows and electric lightning bolts lit up the city outside. The lights had flickered a couple of times, but so far they had held on.

“Uh. No.” Io was quick to shut down Jimin’s proposal. “Did we forget what happened last time we played that game?”

“But Oh Sehun isn’t here now,” he pouted. “And none of us would get mad at you for making out with someone.”

Io narrowed her eyes at him. “I think you’re also forgetting that you were the troublemaker asking the question that brought that night to a very abrupt end.”

Jimin pointed to where Jungkook was sitting quietly on Io’s right side. “That was Jungkook-ah.”

Io shook her head. “And you had nothing to do with it?”

“How was I supposed to know it was a huge secret?” Jimin shrugged. “C’mon, please?”

“What if maybe you just ask others what you want to know about them like a normal human being?” she suggested, albeit with a little more snark than she had intended. “Although, it wasn’t a hardship kissing the baby, if I’m being honest,” she reconsidered, winking at Jungkook. She looked around at the other beautiful boys full of food and sprawled out in the chairs and couches in the living room where they were sat. “Okay, yeah, we can play the game again.”

“We are definitely _not_ playing that game again,” Namjoon declared. Io stuck her tongue out at him. She was sat on the loveseat leaned against Jungkook and her legs thrown over Taehyung’s lap. Taehyung had tried to pull all of her to sit in his lap, and though she was comfortable enough with him, she squirmed until he released her and she settled herself between the two youngest.

“But you’re fine with us asking questions to get to know you?” Seokjin asked. He had taken up residency on the floor leaning against Namjoon’s legs.

“Sure,” she shrugged. “But I reserve the right to not answer a question if I don’t want to. And because you’re my friends, you’ll respect that.”

“Okay, I have a question, then,” Seokjin leaned forward and stretched out his long legs in front of him. “Why did Oh Sehun and Kim Junmyeon jump down my throat when I asked why you won’t drink with us?”

She hesitated and looked down at her knees.

“You don’t have to answer,” Jungkook reminded her gently.

“No. I can,” she nodded. “They were unnecessarily harsh with you and you do deserve an explanation for that. Just give me a second to collect my thoughts.” She picked at her fingernail, but eventually the bile that rose in her stomach settled and she was able to speak. “It’s not something we share with a lot of people. It’s… delicate.”  She licked her lips and began. “We were at a party in a hotel convention center a couple of years ago. A lot of industry people and Idols, you know? I remember you weren’t there because I wanted to meet you, but you were doing something in America at the time. Anyway,” she shook her head and continued, “someone handed me some champagne. I don’t even remember who it was. But then I was pulled in so many directions, I didn’t start drinking it until maybe something like ten minutes later.”

She removed her legs from across Tae’s lap and pulled her knees tight against her chest. “I remember Junmyeon had just introduced me to Kwon Ji-yong—G Dragon. I was nervous and blushing and that’s when I started to drink. Jun had gone somewhere else and I heard Jiyong ask me if I was okay. I remember thinking it was weird. It sounded like I had stuck my head under water, and everything was echoing around my skull. Jiyong’s face started going in and out of focus. He kept me from hitting the ground, not that I remember any of that part. He shouted for Junmyeon and a guy apparently tried to claim he was a doctor and take me to the hospital. Jiyong thought something felt off and wouldn’t let the guy take me without Jun or Sehun with me. And when the others got to me, the guy was pulling at me trying to get me away from Jiyong. When the guy saw the other members, he bolted.”

They sat in silence, horrified. But what did she expect? What does a person say when they hear someone they know was very nearly kidnapped?

“I didn’t wake up until the next day,” she continued. “I was in the hospital and my grandfather was sitting in the chair next to me. Sehun was in the corner crying. I think it scared him worse than it scared me.”

“We heard about that,” Hoseok nodded, his eyebrows drawn together in concentration. “We didn’t know it was you, though.”

Namjoon had to shove his fists down to his side so that she wouldn’t see how hard he was clenching them. “Where was Sehun during all of this?” he asked.

Io sighed. “He drank a little too much and one of the managers had taken him upstairs to a room to sleep it off. He blamed himself, of course, for not being there. My grandfather was furious. Sehun told me later that he had to beg for my grandfather’s permission to even be allowed in the hospital room.”

“And the guy that tried to take you?” Namjoon questioned.

“The cameras were shut off in the hotel convention room for privacy and all the other cameras where the guy could be seen, he had put on a hat so his face wasn’t seen. They never caught him.”

In an uncharacteristic move, Jungkook brought his arm up to wrap around her and pulled her against him. She normally didn’t like to be touched when she was upset, but she let him comfort her and tuck her into his side.

“Okay,” Seokjin nodded with the corners of his mouth turned down. “That’s why I deserved to get told off. And that’s why you don’t drink with people. Got it.”

“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “When you asked me if it was because I didn’t trust you… It’s a sensitive subject.”

“No.” Seokjin held his hand up, stopping her from apologizing any more. “You have every right to refuse a drink.”

“It’s not because I don’t trust you…”

“Noona.” Jungkook stopped her this time, pulling her tighter. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. We want you to know that if you do decide to drink that you would be safe with us. But we would never pressure you. We won’t bring it up again, if that’s what you want.”

“I have a question.” Jimin lifted his finger to bring attention to himself. “Who’s your bias? I mean, we both know it’s me, but I just want them to know it, too.”

His question was met with a chorus of groans and several pillows being thrown at him, but Io was grateful to him for lightening the mood. It made her uncomfortable to be so open.

Io laughed and tapped her fingers against her chin pretending to consider. “Ummmm… Pass.”

All of the pillows that had just been thrown at Jimin now sailed through the air at her, Jungkook getting hit as a casualty. “You can’t pass on that one!” Hoseok exclaimed, joining the assault with pillows and the room suddenly went dark. “See! Even the electric gods are angry with you!”

There was a small amount of light coming from the large windows, but the dark clouds outside still churned and dimmed out the sun. “Everyone stay put while Jin and I grab the lanterns,” Namjoon commanded.

“You okay?” Jungkook asked her as Jin and Namjoon were rummaging around in one of the hall closets for the electric lanterns. Every now and then a flash of lightning would break the blackness that had settled over them.

“Mmmm,” she answered in the affirmative letting her head fall back onto his shoulder. “The dark doesn’t bother me. You good?”

“Yeah,” he answered. “Taehyung, how about you?”

“I don’t like the dark.” Tae responded and she could feel him trembling a little as he spoke. “Io Noona?”

“Right here.” Her hands blindly reached out beside her to feel for him. She felt his arm and pulled at him to lean over her into her lap like the first night they had met and he was drunk.

Last time she had been wearing jeans, but this time she had only bothered to tug on some jean shorts and a tshirt. She felt the stubble on his face grate against her skin and she wondered if it bothered him at all that his face was pressed into her bare legs. He sighed deeply in his chest and she could feel the tension ease from his shoulders as he turned his face toward her and wedged one of his arms between her back and the cushion while the other hung lazily off of her knees.

Her heart sputtered a little bit at the way Taehyung made himself comfortable with his head in her lap and reached for her hands. “Do the thing,” he instructed, using her fingers to scratch his head. She chuckled and ‘did the thing’ as she was told. She rubbed his back and up to his neck and his earlobes, gently kneading the cartilage between her thumb and forefinger. He hummed, content. She could get used to having Tae as a little brother. She envied the way he had no reservations or fear with her. He was so open and unguarded.

Namjoon set the largest of the LED lanterns on the floor in the middle of the room and opened it to expose the light. Everyone blinked as their eyes adjusted. Everyone except for Taehyung who had his eyes closed still, enjoying having his back rubbed.

“Tae is your bias? That’s not fair,” Jimin huffed.

Io’s eyebrows drew together, confused. “What makes you think Tae is my bias?”

“He has his head in your lap and you’re rubbing his ears?” Jimin pointed at them.

“Taehyung’s animal totem is a dolphin,” Io explained giving the boy’s head an extra scratch. “Are you telling me you wouldn’t pet a dolphin?”

“Nope,” Seokjin answered loudly while he set a lantern on the table in the kitchen. “Big animals scare me. Especially in water.”

“What if Yoongi crawled into your lap?” Jimin asked, not letting it go.

Io looked over to where Yoongi was sitting sideways in his chair with his legs tossed over the chair arm. The use of his name caught his attention and he glanced over looking only slightly curious like he didn’t care either way. “I would kiss him on the nose and pet him until he decided he was done. Because Yoongi is a cat.”

Yoongi smiled and pointed at her. “I like that!”

“Leave Io Noona alone,” Tae waved a hand lazily in Jimin’s direction.

“Yah!” Jimin shouted at him. “The lanterns are on and we have light again. There’s no reason for you to be in Io Noona’s lap now.”

“Nope,” Tae sighed. “But it’s just so comfy. Io Noona is the best big sister.”

“What am I?” Seokjin asked, coming back to sit in his previous spot on the floor. Namjoon followed, also returning to his chair behind Jin.

Io smiled at him mischievously. “You’re obviously a bird.”

Seokjin threw up his hands. “How is that obvious? And what the hell are totems even?”

“Totems are animals that represent a person’s inner spirit in Native American lore,” she explained before quickly adding “and probably other cultures, but I’m half Native, so that’s what I know. And birds are the only things that enjoy their own reflection as much as you do. You’re probably a Nightingale or some other type of songbird. Jungkook is a bunny, of course. Jimin is an otter. Hoseok is a gazelle. And Namjoon is a fox. A very clumsy fox,” she added, “but a fox nonetheless.”

“Everyone else gets to be cool things, but I’m a bird,” he groaned, complaining.

“Birds are very intelligent even if they are vain,” she shrugged casually. “They represent communication and beauty, Worldwide Handsome.”

Jin nodded, reassured. “Okay then. As long as you recognize who is the best looking.” Seokjin gestured to himself, “I’m clearly the bias.”

That started an entirely new argument while Namjoon just sat quietly. She made eye contact with him and a wordless conversation passed between them. He knew he was her bias. She could practically hear him calling her ‘Jagi’ in the way he looked at her. Maybe she never should have told him. But how was she to know that a little innocent flirting would turn into this?

“So, what are you, then?” Jungkook asked her, nudging her with his shoulder.

“I’d like to think that I am also a fox. And maybe I was supposed to be, but now I’m a panther.”

“I don’t understand. It changes?” Hoseok tilted his head to the side, confused.

“It can,” she confirmed “Events in your life change you. Do you think you’d be the same person you are if you hadn’t found Bangtan?”

Hoseok lifted his eyebrows almost shocked and his eyes were darting one way and the other trying to imagine life without the other members. “I would be a completely different person.”

“And you, Jungkook?” She nudged him back softly so as not to disturb Taehyung who had fallen asleep on her lap if his little snores were any indication. “If you didn’t have your hyungs to raise you, who would you be?”

Jungkook shook his head. “Not who I am now.”

Yoongi cleared his throat to claim the others’ attention. “Panther,” he began, “hidden emotions, cautious, protective, careful decisions, multi-dimensional, darkness and light. I’ve been web searching since you started talking,” he explained. “Is that really who you are?”

“I don’t know. Maybe,” she shrugged, suddenly self-conscious. _Too much_ , she thought. She gave more of herself than she was comfortable with and now she regretted it.

“Is everyone else right?” Hoseok asked Yoongi.

The light from Yoongi’s phone illuminated his face as he scrolled. “Pretty damn accurate.

Hoseok directed his attention back to her. “What changed you into a panther, then?”

Io shook her head already resolved that she had said as much as she was going to. “That’s not something I’m willing to share tonight.”

.

She stood at the large window looking out over Seoul. All of the Southeast quarter of the city was without power. She could see the chaos beneath her, headlights of cars and busses backed up for kilometers but no people as the rain still hadn’t let up.

Namjoon approached beside her with a lantern and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. “It doesn’t look like the power is coming back on tonight.”

She shook her head. “Nope.”

It was past eleven at night and the others had dispersed from the living room, still tired from the week of practice. Namjoon’s hand reached out for hers in the dim light, threading their fingers together. “You know I’m not letting you out in this, right?”

“I can call a car to come get me.” She pulled her hand from his and took another deep draught of the tea Seokjin had made before going to bed.

“You’re staying the night here,” he declared more forcefully, turning toward her, away from the window. “If the power is out, the streetlights are out. You don’t live that far, but it’s not a risk I’m taking.”

“Who says it’s your decision?” she argued, flatly.

Namjoon sighed at her unconcerned tone. It was the same tone Yoongi liked to use when covering up emotions he didn’t want shown. It made sense that their animal spirit/guide/totem/thing was similar. He put his hand on her shoulder deciding that would be safe, at least, and pulled her so that she faced him. “Jagi.”

The endearment still caught her by surprise, but it was how softly he said it that tore down her defenses. She could tell that he genuinely cared for her safety. “Fine,” she sighed. “I’ll stay.”

He nodded and took her hand again. “Come with me.”

“Where are we going?” She let him lead her down the hallway without pulling away this time.

“My room.”

 “I’ll be fine on the couch,” she protested “Really. I’m a big girl.”

“I have a cot in my room. My sister stays sometimes,” he insisted. “I’ll sleep on the cot and you can take my bed.”

She shook her head, trying one more time to put some distance between them. She was feeling much too vulnerable for her own liking. “Joon, that’s really not necessary.”

He continued to tug her to the first door on the right. The lantern clanked against the door when he pushed it open. “I already have extra pillows and blankets. And I’ll feel better if I know you’re not out here by yourself.” It didn’t feel worth arguing that she was usually always by herself.

He moved into the small room, letting go of her hand and picking things up as he went. “Sorry,” he mumbled, kicking a pile of clothes off to the side. “Didn’t really plan on having you in here so soon.” Only a little embarrassed at his own messiness, he was just grateful that he washed his sheets a few days ago. He placed the lantern on the side of his desk and raked a couple of shirts off of his comforter and kicked them underneath the bed. He would see to them later.  

“So soon?” she questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s not how I meant it,” he assured her, tossing Ryan plushies into the chair in the corner of the room and turning down the covers of his bed for her.

“But you planned on getting me in your room?” she asked casually, running a hand across the top of the computer on his desk and toyed with the figurines he had on the shelves above. Namjoon was pulling a small trundle bed from underneath his own. She took the opportunity to observe her surroundings while he fussed with the little cot, kicking open the bracers to stabilize the legs.  His room was decorated nicely, if a little cluttered with all of his collectibles. His bed was smaller, to fit the smaller room. A full size, she guessed, with a grey fabric headboard. And she was enveloped by a scent that she could only describe as distinctly male. It was that nice boy smell that was something like musk and eucalyptus. She breathed it in again letting it fill her senses.

“If I say I planned on getting you in my room, that makes me sound like a jerk,” he argued as he reached over her to grab extra blankets and some pillows from the top of the closet behind her. He effectively trapped her with his body, tossing the bedding blindly behind him onto the cot. “This is just a very happy coincidence.”

“Right,” she nodded, putting her hands firmly on his chest to keep him from advancing further. “A coincidence wherein you invited me over because of a big storm and won’t let me leave because of said storm. Total coincidence. Not planned at all. I think I’ll go push Yoongi over and sleep in his room.”

She moved to duck underneath his arm that was holding in her place, but he held firm. “You could,” he shrugged. “But Yoongi sleeps naked.”

“The baby, then.” She made another motion to dart around him.

“Jagi.” He stopped blocking her and instead gripped her by the shoulders solidly enough to keep her still, but gently enough that she didn’t feel threatened. “You know I would never do anything to you, right? I mean, I know I pulled you in here. And I know that you know,” he hesitated with his words. “I don’t think of you as a noona or dongsaeng or whatever. I flirt maybe a little more than I should, but I don’t want you to feel upset or uncomfortable with me. I won’t hurt you.”

“I—”

Io’s phone rang in her back pocket and it startled her enough that she jumped. Namjoon pulled away from her quickly and moved to the other side of the room with his back to her. He rubbed the back of his neck and shook away the thoughts of how intoxicated it made him feel when she bit her lip like she was doing just moments ago.

“Sehun,” he heard Io answer. He tried not to listen to her conversation, but in the small space, it was unavoidable. When she moved to sit at the edge of his bed, he went back to the closet, digging through and smelling things just to be sure they were clean.

“I’m still here with them,” she continued, pausing every now and then to listen to Sehun on the other end. “No. I told you, Grandfather is in Shanghai.” Pause. “They were worried about me being by myself so I’m bunking down with them.” Pause. “Sehun, I’m fine. The power is…” Pause. “Sehun.” Pause. “I’m with Namjoon.” Pause “Fine. Hey.” It took her saying his name to realize that she was trying to get his attention. Io held the phone out for him to take. “He wants to talk to you.”

“Oh Sehun?” Namjoon asked into the receiver.

“We just got back to the hotel and got the weather alert for Seoul. Is everything okay there?” Sehun’s voice was brusque, right to the point with no pleasantries.

“Yeah. Everything is okay,” Namjoon said calmly to pacify Sehun. “The power is out, but we have lanterns. We’re all safe. She wanted to call a car to take her home, but with the streetlights being out, too, I thought it was best if she stayed here.”

Sehun didn’t speak for a few seconds. “Where is she sleeping?”

Namjoon’s throat tightened. He didn’t dare lie to Sehun, but he doubted very much that Sehun would be overly thankful that Io was sleeping in one of their rooms. “My sister sleeps on a cot in my room when she visits. I was going to sleep on the cot and give Io my bed.”

Sehun grew quiet again and Namjoon suspected that Sehun was choosing his next words carefully. Either that, or he was contemplating flying back to get Io himself. “Namjoon,” Sehun began in a deep, serious tone. “I know you guys have gotten friendly with Io. But that’s my baby sister. I care more about her than I care about myself.”

Namjoon nodded though Sehun couldn’t see him. “I understand.” And he did. Everything that could have been conveyed in Sehun’s sentence was heard loud and clear. _You better not touch my baby sister and she better be alive and unharmed when I get back._

“When she sleeps, she’s fine in the dark,” Sehun continued softly, the anxiety clear in his voice. “But she has to sleep next to something. She’ll keep pillows next to her, but if she gets too hot, she’ll kick them off and she’ll wake up scared.”

Namjoon turned to meet Io’s eyes. She looked up at him curiously. “Okay.”

“And don’t let her drink milk before bed. It gives her a stomachache, but she does it anyway.”

“Got it.” Crinkles formed in the corner of Namjoon’s eyes as he tried not to smile. What else was there about stubborn Io that he didn’t know?

“And she can’t sleep with a TV on. If you leave the TV on, she will never go to bed.”

“The power’s out,” Namjoon reminded him.

“Right,” Sehun responded quickly and then let out a long, deep sigh. “Namjoon, don’t make me regret entrusting her with you.”

“You can trust her with me,” Namjoon echoed the words he had told Junmyeon barely a month ago.

Whether his answer reassured Sehun or not, Namjoon couldn’t tell. Sehun’s response was short and flat. “Let me speak back with Io, please.”

Namjoon handed the phone back to Io and sat next to her on the bed. “I’m here,” she said into the microphone. It took a few moments for Sehun to let her speak. Namjoon could hear Sehun as he mostly just talked _at_ Io. She cut him off when he started repeating himself. “Look,” she snapped. “I know you’re worried about me and that’s the only reason I’m not being a dick to you right now. I’m fine with sleeping in Namjoon’s room. He’s not going to hurt me. It’s fine. Everything is fine. Nothing is going to happen. We are all perfectly capable of handling a power outage.” Pause. “Yeah.” Pause. “I love you, too. Sleep well.”

Namjoon ran a hand through his hair, making it even more disheveled than it already was. “Here.” He reached over and pulled a black tshirt and grey sweatpants from the top of the dresser. “For you to sleep in. Figured they would be more comfortable.”

“Thank you.” Io took the clothes with a soft smile. Something had shifted between them. It was subtle, but it was there.

“You can change in the bathroom,” he told her, pointing to the door on the other side of his wardrobe. “It’s, uh, messy. Like everything else. But there’s an extra toothbrush in the top right-side drawer under the sink. And you can use my facewash or whatever else you need.”

She responded with her thanks again and slipped through the door and into the bathroom. It smelled good; like the cologne that he wore. And it was more cluttered than messy, just like his room. Varied bottles were lined up underneath the mirror while his toothpaste was tossed haphazardly next to the sink along with some combs and a brush. Hairspray. A few makeup and spot treatment containers. And some damn good moisturizer, she noticed, picking up the bottle. She would have to try a little of that.

She shed her clothing along with her bra, letting them fall into a pile on the floor next to his. She chuckled at the idea of Namjoon stumbling into the bathroom in the middle of the night and being startled by it. Or maybe he wouldn’t be. She didn’t know him well enough to know his experience with girls and whether he actually would be startled by feminine underthings. She used his facewash and a dab of the expensive moisturizer, reveling in the luxury and thinking she should take better care of her skin. The red toothbrush was in the drawer exactly where he said it would be and when she was finished, she debated if she should throw the toothbrush away or not. She would never use it again, surely. And Namjoon had no need for a used toothbrush. In the end, she decided to place it in the cup next to his, blue and red together, and let him decide if he wanted to throw it out or not.

She pulled on his sweatpants thinking how thin Namjoon was and worrying if they would fit over her hips. They did, with room to spare. Luckily Namjoon liked his clothes a little baggier. The same could be said for the extra-large tshirt that she slipped over her head. The fabric was soft and warm and she enjoyed how it already had that boy scent from being in Namjoon’s closet. She might just have to keep this shirt, she thought, looking in the mirror.

When she came back to the room, Namjoon had already settled himself on the cot with his hands tucked behind his head and his uncovered feet hanging off the end.

Io sighed at how ridiculous he looked. You should at least let me take the cot.”

Namjoon shook his head. “No deal. I told Sehun you were sleeping in the bed so that’s where you’ll sleep.”

“But your feet are hanging off the end!” she exclaimed pointed at his bare feet.

He looked at his feet as if he were contemplating her reasoning, but decided her argument wasn’t good enough. “No matter how much you beg, I’m not sleeping in the bed with you so that you can take advantage of me.” He pulled his blankets up over his chest in mock gesture of modesty.

“Punk!” she shouted at him, pulling his pillow out from under him and wacked him across the chest with it.

“Yah! Do you want to die?” he laughed, grabbing a pillow from the bed and hitting her in the side.  She fought back, but he ended up pushing her over onto the bed where the fight continued until Yoongi banged on the shared wall between his and Namjoon’s rooms.

“Sorry!” Io called to Yoongi and dropped to the bed, out of breath. She lay back and stuffed the pillow behind her head and Namjoon lay down next to her. “I haven’t had a good pillow fight in ages,” she breathed.

“I used to have them with my sister. But she was out to kill. You were kind enough to at least not aim for my head.”

She turned her head to face him while he was still looking up at the ceiling. “Tell me about your sister.”

“Kyung Min. She’s a year younger than you. Too smart for her own good. Tenacious. Devious. Loving.” He reached for his phone on the dresser next to the lantern and lay back down, head beside hers, as he scrolled through pictures to show her. He wanted to open up his life to her—show her everything.

They stayed up late talking, about everything. About nothing. The last thing she remembered was Namjoon talking about his collection of KAWS figures. And then she was asleep.


	5. Stay Here With Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He traced the warm skin of her collarbone slowly with two fingers and was satisfied at her sharp inhale. His fingers stopped at the base of her throat and then followed the curve up to cup the side of her neck to reach her ear. He did to her what he had seen her do to Taehyung, kneading the cartilage gently. She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand, a low hum in the back of her throat. When she opened her eyes again, she wondered how he could have moved so close to her without her even being aware. His nose was grazing hers, so close that they were sharing the same air. It struck her how his eyes looked this close. His pupils were wide in the dark, but around the edges she discerned a lighter brown; like dark liquor that she could get drunk off of. Her own eyes, wide and searching, Namjoon’s fingers drifted from playing with her ear to cupping her cheek with his large, warm hand. He leaned in, fitting his nose beside hers and closed the last few centimeters between them.

Io heard the familiar whir of the air-conditioning system kick on and it stirred her from her sleep.  She was warm and comfortable, humming contentedly into the pillow, but it felt different—the smells that surrounded her and the too-big clothes that she wore. The lights were off, but the lantern on Namjoon’s desk was still going strong and when she opened her eyes, she was greeted with Namjoon’s face, not even a hand’s length apart from hers. It startled her at first, before she remembered the night before. Pillow fighting and talking until they couldn’t keep their eyes open anymore. She smiled at the memory and watched Namjoon’s chest rise and fall with his rhythmic breathing. He looked so peaceful in his sleep. His light snores made her smile and she lightly brushed away the hair that had fallen over his face.

She pulled her hand away and stared at his sleeping form for a while longer. If she wanted, she could let herself feel something for Namjoon. Talking with him was so easy, it concerned her sometimes. Maybe it was because being with Bangtan was a similar dynamic to being with Exo, she decided. She found similar personality traits in her newly acquired friends that she knew in her old friends and it made her more at ease with all of them. There was so much about Namjoon that reminded her of Junmyeon, but she enjoyed exploring their differences. She had liked Junmyeon for such a long time, she was hesitant to allow herself to feel anything for Namjoon. Was it because they were similar that she felt a spark with Namjoon? Was it because she recognized the same qualities in Namjoon that she already liked about Junmyeon? The uncertainty gave her pause.

She rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling Namjoon had painted black making it look like there was no ceiling at all. Her lingering feelings for Junmyeon were not the only reasons she had to distance herself from Namjoon, but they were enough to keep her from doing something stupid like falling for him. What a mess that would make. Even so, as she recalled the night before, a melody formed in her head. _If we lay, let the day just pass us by. I might get to too much talking. I might have to tell you something._ The words struck like a lighting flash, and suddenly, it was there. A song. She had been blocked for so long, she thought she was broken, but in her head, she heard the piano fill into the first verse and roll into the chorus. And the rest of it just fell into place.

She scrambled as softly as she could out of Namjoon’s bed and tip-toed barefoot into the living room where she had left her backpack to retrieve it along with the notebook she wrote her lyrics in. Quietly, she sneaked back into Namjoon’s room and crawled onto the bed with her notebook in her lap and began writing the first song for her new album.

That was the sight Namjoon awoke to— _her_ in his clothes with her legs crossed and her notebook in her lap next to him on his bed. His heart gave a little jump. He stayed like that for a few seconds, watching her, all of her attention focused on the notebook as she scribbled things he couldn’t see and softly humming a tune he didn’t recognize.

“Jagi, why are you awake this early?” he asked, his voice heavy with sleep. He looked at his watch. It was just after five in the morning and the sun had yet to come up.

She beamed a smile at him and his heart gave a heavier jump this time. “I had a song in my head, and I had to get it down before I forgot it.”

“You got over your block? Can I see?” He sat up and moved closer to her to peer over her notebook, but she abruptly brought it to her chest, hiding it.

“I- It’s not done yet,” she stammered, warmth rushing to her face.

“You’re blushing. Why are you…” He gave her a quizzical look and leaned away. “Wait. Is it about me?”

Her stomach tightened and she held her notebook tighter. Writing the song had put too many thoughts in her head along with the way he called her Jagi in that deep, fresh-from-sleep voice. “It’s a draft and it could be about anyone.”

“It’s about me,” he stated confidently with a smirk. He lay back against the cushioned headboard and clasped his fingers together and tucked them underneath his head. “Otherwise you would let me see it. But it’s fine. I’ll just hear it on the radio later and know it’s my song.”

She closed the notebook and leaned over the edge of the bed to shove it back in her backpack. “Who says it makes the cut to actually be recorded? Huh?” Even as she said this, she knew it would make the album. The downbeat tempo and the relatable lyrics would make it an instant hit. It might even be her first single if this spark of inspiration could keep going long enough to finish the album.

He leaned forward away from the headboard and scooted closer to her, studying her. Her stomach tightened again as he drew closer, his face a breath away from her face, testing her to see if she would back down or flinch. She didn’t. Between having too much pride to shy away from him and too much curiosity to see how far he would go, she met his eyes like a challenge.  He started slow with her, his hand lingering on hers for a moment before lightly trailing up her arm to the neck of his tshirt that she was wearing. It was big enough that it hung awkwardly to the side exposing her collarbone. He traced the warm skin of her collarbone slowly with two fingers and was satisfied at her sharp inhale. His fingers stopped at the base of her throat and then followed the curve up to cup the side of her neck to reach her ear. He did to her what he had seen her do to Taehyung, kneading the cartilage gently. She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand, a low hum in the back of her throat. When she opened her eyes again, she wondered how he could have moved so close to her without her even being aware. His nose was grazing hers, so close that they were sharing the same air. It struck her how his eyes looked this close. His pupils were wide in the dark, but around the edges she discerned a lighter brown; like dark liquor that she could get drunk off of. Her own eyes, wide and searching, Namjoon’s fingers drifted from playing with her ear to cupping her cheek with his large, warm hand. He leaned in, fitting his nose beside hers and closed the last few centimeters between them.

“We can’t. I’m sorry,” she whispered at the last second and pulled her face away to put distance between them.

He tried desperately not to let the disappointment show on his face. “So no one can kiss you ever?”

She shook her head, still trying to untangle the knots he caused in her stomach. “You’re Sehun’s friend. I’m sorry. I like you. But no.”

“If you like me—”

“No.” She cut him off and put her hand on his chest to keep him at a safe distance but only caused her to groan inwardly at the feeling of firm chest underneath her fingers. “I probably shouldn’t have admitted that, but I told you before; best friends come before crushes.”

“But you like me?”

“It’s irrelevant, but yes..”

His mouth turned down and his voice rose a little louder than it should at the early hour. “The way I feel about you, is that also irrelevant?”

“Namjoon, you barely know me,” she sighed. “You’ve known me for a month. We flirt casually. We talk. We hang out. I mean, this is the first time, really, since the night I met you guys, but still. This thing that we have can’t be a thing.”

Namjoon shook his head. “I don’t accept that.”

“What?” she questioned, her shoulders dropping because he was being impossible.

“I like you.” He gestured between them. “You like me. And a rule that Sehun probably made up when you were, what, fourteen? Fifteen?”

“Sixteen,” she acknowledged, taking her hand away from his chest and crossing her arms under her breasts. She didn’t realize that in crossing her arms, she had made the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra all too noticeable.

Namjoon tried very hard to maintain eye contact, only risking a glance down when she looked away for a moment. “I think this could be a thing. If you let it,” he argued.

“Namjoon,” she sighed again.

“No. I’ll talk to Oh Sehun if that’s what’s holding you back, but I’m not giving up.”

“Stubborn.” She rolled her eyes at his persistence, but there was also something inside her that was quietly thrilled that Namjoon had feelings for her.

“No less than you,” he countered. “Should we try to go back to sleep? The others won’t be up for a few more hours.”

“Yeah. I guess we should,” she shrugged and crawled to tuck herself underneath the covers. “But you go to the cot.”

He shook his head. “Nope.” She watched as he made himself at home, which, why wouldn’t he, it was his bed after all, and slid down underneath the covers as well. “We already spent the night in the bed together. What’s a few more hours?”

She rolled her eyes at him and turned the opposite way on her side. She felt him move closer behind her and reach out to wrap his arm around her waist, pulling her back into him. “Namjoon,” she protested when he slid his other arm underneath her neck so that he could make himself more comfortable. But, ultimately, it felt good to have someone wrap around her and hold her. She relented, letting him situate himself against her. She had tried to warn him, hadn’t she? She had said her piece and if he completely ignored her, it was his own fault. She relaxed her body but fortified her heart.

Or she thought she had fortified her heart until he released the grip he had around her stomach and felt around for her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers and tucked it close to them as he settled himself behind her. “Mmmm,” he hummed, his breath tickling her ear. “Your hair smells like coconut.”

That was when Io decided that she was in trouble. His deep, breathy voice on her neck sent goosebumps down her body. “You’re more dangerous than I expected,” she breathed, enjoying the way she could feel his heart beating in her own body as he pulled her tighter against his chest.

.

“Good morning!” Io was startled awake by the cheery deep voice that could only be Taehyung. She heard the sound of the door smack lightly against the doorjamb and had just barely managed to blink against the brightness of the sun peeking through the shades when she saw a blur rushing toward her. There was only a second to react before a body threw itself onto her and the warm arms that were around her tightened.

“Taehyung, no!” Namjoon had shifted himself so that he took most of Taehyung’s weight as the boy had thrown himself at Io and Namjoon, still hazy form sleep.

“You guys had a sleepover?!” Taehyung exclaimed rolling over Io and throwing back the covers so that he could join them.

“Taehyung, get out of my room!” Namjoon growled and reached across Io to push at Taehyung who had helped himself to the pillow that Io had shoved out of the way in favor of Namjoon’s arm.

Taehyung frowned at them. “Why do you hate me? I just want Noona cuddles, too.”

“You have exactly three seconds to vacate my bed and my room,” Namjoon growled.

Taehyung rolled his eyes.

“One.”

Tae’s eyebrows narrowed.

“Two.”

“Fine! Why are you so mean in the morning?” Taehyung tossed the covers away from himself forcefully enough that they also jerked away from Io and Namjoon and landed on the floor on the opposite side. Taehyung’s eyebrows shot up at seeing Namjoon and Io’s spooning position. He bolted for the door, yelling into the apartment as he went. “Io Noona and Joon Hyung slept in the bed together!” he called down the hallway.

Namjoon sighed. “You still like him now?” he asked Io.

Io rolled over onto her back and covered her face with her hands. “No. Go kill him.”

“Yep,” Namjoon nodded, taking Io’s hand and pulling her up with him, grumbling all the while.

“So what?” she heard Jin respond to Taehyung from the living room. “You know he likes her.”

“Since when?” Hoseok asked, yawning.

“Since we met her a month ago,” Jin responded. “I am a little surprised that she let him in bed with her. Maybe she likes him, too.”

Io picked up a spare pillow from the floor as Namjoon pulled her into the living room and smacked Jin in the back of the head with it. “ _She_ felt bad because his feet were hanging off the end of the cot.” Io tugged away from Namjoon and tossed the pillow in Yoongi’s lap, lying down across the couch and curling into him “Make them be quiet,” she whined, pulling her hair from under her neck as she settled into the pillow in Yoongi’s lap. He patted her head sympathetically.

“Io Noona and hyung slept together?” Jimin wandered in rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He lifted Io’s legs and sighed as he sank into the couch beside her, resting his head on her hip and wrapping his arms around her legs.

Io covered her face with her hands. “Oh my god, make it stop.”

“He’s her bias.” Jin pointed at Namjoon accusingly. Namjoon had thrown himself into the same chair he had bee sitting in the night before, one long leg tossed lazily across the chair arm while he leaned his head against the tall chair back.

Io felt Yoongi shift underneath her when he shrugged. “What, like that’s news? He’s been sneaking off and having secret conversations with her since they met.”

“Et tu, Brute?” Io glared up at Yoongi. “And you!” She pointed challengingly at Taehyung. “You fell asleep in my lap twice yesterday.”

Taehyung’s eyes grew wide and he shrugged. “You give really good back rubs.”

“I just feel like you’re a pot calling the kettle black.”

Taehyung shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s an English euphemism,” Namjoon explained, still lazing in his hair.

Io rolled her eyes at him. “More or less, I’m just saying that when I enjoy someone’s company, I show affection physically. Hugging. Cuddling. Cheek kisses. Back rubs. Stuff like that is how I relate to people because I’m not great with explaining how I feel with words unless it’s a song. In case you weren’t aware, that’s also how _you_ show affection. So you calling me out for showing affection to someone I enjoy spending time with feels a little bit like you just being a brat.”

“Yeah, Taehyung,” Jungkook added, walking in from the kitchen with a large bowl of cereal in his hands. “Especially when you end up in my bed half the time anyway.”

“Why is everyone against me?” Taehyung whined.

“Who gets cheek kisses?” Jimin asked suddenly looking suspiciously around at the others. “I’ve never gotten a cheek kiss.

“She kissed my nose,” Yoongi added, nonchalant as ever. “It was okay.”

Hoseok motioned his head in the direction of Namjoon. “Joon is being suspiciously quiet. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Namjoon shrugged. “I woke up next to Tso Io and she enjoys spending time with me. Do you think I have any complaints right now?”

.

Io stayed with the boys for a little longer. Jin made them breakfast and Hoseok made them all coffee. She enjoyed her time with them knowing they’d be starting the Wings tour soon. They had such a strong dynamic. At first, it felt a lot like being with Exo, but she was learning to appreciate the differences in the two groups.

But too soon, it was time for her to go back to her own house. She hummed to herself, new words and melodies swirling in her head as she picked up her clothes from Namjoon’s bathroom floor and tugged them back on, albeit keeping his shirt. She left hers for him, still a crumpled heap against the tile.

_It’s like your eyes are liquor, it’s like your body is gold_ , she hummed, pulling the bathroom door open to find Namjoon sitting on the edge of his bed waiting for her. His eyes were narrowed, and he was staring down at the bag—her bag—in his lap.

“Namjoon?” she asked, concerned.

His face changed immediately, looking up at the sound of her voice. “Hey,” he smiled brightly.

“Is everything okay? You looked like you were thinking hard about something.”

He moved her bag from his lap to the bed beside him and motioned her to him. She let him pull her by the hand and situate her sitting crossways on his lap. She touched his cheek, genuinely sorry that she couldn’t be what he wanted because he was so good to her.

He leaned into her hand. “Why won’t you at least give this a chance?” he asked as if reading her thoughts. “Am I not good enough?”

She let her hand drift from his cheek to scratch reassuringly at the nape of his neck. “It’s not that, Namjoon. You know that I’m attracted to you. You’re smart and kind and ridiculously handsome.”

“So it’s Sehun. For real? This rule is the reason why you can’t see me?”

“Not entirely,” she admitted with a sigh. “Sehun’s rule is… I’ve never been in a relationship. I’ve kissed a few people.” Her brow furrowed at the memories. “I have attractions. Quick, private, superficial flings. Kissing. Light touching. But then it’s over. I could do that with you, if you like. Make out with you, let you feel me up because I know you checked out my tits earlier… But I wish you wouldn’t.”

Namjoon shook his head. “That’s not what I want. I mean, yes, I do want to make out with you and I definitely want to feel you up.” His hands moved up from her waist to rest at her ribcage on either side of her breasts, his thumbs barely caressing the soft swell. “But I want more than that with you.”

“I appreciate that. Really, I do. Because I know that you respect me. Even with your hands where they are.”

“Sorry.” He dropped his hands back to her waist, smiling sheepishly.

Io shrugged. “No. It’s okay. I know you toe the line of the boundaries I set, and maybe push them a little bit, but I’d like to believe that if you knew you were making me truly uncomfortable that you would back off.”

“Of course,” he nodded and then hesitated. “Am I making you uncomfortable with pushing this?”

She bit her bottom lip, considering.  “I’ve never been in a relationship.”

“Yeah, you said th—”

Io held up a hand to cut him off. “The only person I’ve had romantic feelings for… real feelings… it started out as friendship. I’m not… I can’t make any promises. But if we were to start somewhere, that’s where I would like to start. No pressure. No dating talk. No cupping my face and looking at me like that, Kim Namjoon.”

His slight smile overwhelmed his eyes making them just slits across his beautiful face. “Like what?”

“Like I’m something precious to you.” Io dropped her voice low in her throat.

He shrugged absently but dropped his hand back to her waist. “You are precious to me.”

“And no speaking to me like I’m your girlfriend,” she demanded in the same low tone. Namjoon seemed unaffected.

“Fine. But I still get to call you Jagi.”

“Only privately,” she conceded. “Not where people can hear. And definitely not in front of Sehun. Also, no more smelling my hair.”

“But you smell good.” He used his large hands to rub up and down her back and pulled her higher on his leg so she was closer to him.

She put her hand on his chest but allowed him to keep her pressed into his side. “You smell good, but I don’t use my sexy voice and whisper it in your ear when we’re in bed.”

“I wouldn’t be upset if you did.”

“That!” she exclaimed with a laugh.

“What?”

“That’s dangerous flirting,” she accused. “Casual flirting is okay. Dangerous flirting is not.”

Namjoon’s eyebrows narrowed and he pouted a little. “What’s the difference?”

“Where your mind is at when you say those things,” she smiled as she tapped him on the nose.

“Oh.” He nodded knowing full and well that she was right. That’s exactly where his mind was at.

“I’m keeping this shirt, by the way,” she mentioned casually as she pushed away from him and stood from his lap.

He was sad feeling her warmth disappear from his lap. “We’re allowed to share clothes, but no one is allowed to hear me call you Jagi?”

Io shook her head. “Not if you value your friendship with Sehun and Junmyeon.” Namjoon sat silently contemplating if he did value his friendship with Exo more than his need to be close to her. “Walk me out, Joon,” she motioned with her hand and tossed her bag over her shoulder.

After drawn out goodbyes, mostly from Jimin and Taehyung, Yoongi had shooed everyone away from the door so that it was only Namjoon and Io yet again. Io stepped into her shoes in the entranceway and turned to say goodbye.

“Why do you look sad?” she asked him

He reached out to wrap his arms around her waist, pulling her tight into his chest. “I’m going to miss you when you’re gone.”

She smiled and drew her arms around his shoulders, hugging him back. “You’re going to see me at the concert in a couple of days. Until then you have to work hard, and I can’t be distracting you.”

He buried his face deeper into her neck and shook his head. “You’re not a distraction.”

“So you shouldn’t be getting ready to go to the practice room right now?” Io chuckled when he shrugged noncommittally, his shoulders dropping as she pulled away. “That’s what I thought. See you in a couple of days.” Keeping a hand against his chest so he wouldn’t be tempted to pull her to him again, she leaned forward on her toes and kissed his cheek before throwing one last goodbye over her shoulder and bouncing out the door.


End file.
